{"sf1_id":603951,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Skyfall Chapter 25","author":"Abyssa","words":6256,"posted_at":"2013-10-18T19:11:00.000Z","tags":["Anthro","Fantasy","Gay","Human","Male","Phoenix","Sci-Fi","SkyFall","Vampire","Werewolf","Wolf","interspecies","story"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/603951-skyfall-chapter-25","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/603951","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=603951\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"25\n I\nended up passing out in my room. I don't know how long I slept, but I felt\nrefreshed and calm after my nap.\nMy eyes opened to warm light\nthat flickered in through the frosted windows. The white world outside was immersed\nin golden hues as the sun began to fall behind the mountains. I cringed at the blaze,\nremembering Kato was upset with me. \nI slipped my jacket back on and\nrolled out of bed. Hopefully, Kato would be in the dining hall getting dinner.\nI quickly walked out the door and down the many stairs, ignoring everything\nelse. I looked down the stairs as I quickly trot down them, keeping my eyes out\nfor Kato.\nTo my relief, I saw Kato\nentering the dining hall just as I stepped off the last steps. I dashed towards\nhim.\n\"Kato!\" I called out.\nHe turned to face me, and his\nexpression shifted from concerned to relieved. \"Decipher!\" He sighed. \"Hey. I'm\nsorry about what happened earlier.\"\n\"It's fine.\" My eyes fell to the\nfloor. \"I deserved it.\"\n\"No, stop that.\" Kato said,\nshaking his head. \"I was thinking about what you said, about Misha being a\nsuccubus...\" His voice became hushed as we wandered into the dining hall. \"Come\non. We'll talk about it in a second.\"\nDesperate to continue the\nconversation, I eyed an empty table. I wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but\nKato motioned me towards the food anyways. \n\"You should eat.\" He said. \"Keep\nyour strength up. Two more nights.\"\nI nodded, not daring to protest.\nI just wanted Kato to be happy. We served ourselves some food and wandered back\ntowards the table.\nI sat down across from Kato as\nhe stared down at his steaming plate of meat. He didn't look up at me, and I\nwatched the shadows fall over his face as he avoided my eyes. My ears fell as I\nwatched him. He was exhausted, but it was more than that. He failed to mask the\npain he felt, and his expression made me feel so guilty.\n\"You're probably right.\" Kato\nmumbled after a few bites of food. \"There's that theory that male succubi\nexist...\"\n\"Incubi, yes.\" I said quietly.\n\"What did Hale want from you?\"\nKato changed the subject, his eyes still focused on his meal.\nI shrugged and decided to go\nalong with the abrupt subject change. \"I honestly am not sure. He mentioned\nsomething about a sacrifice during the eclipse. Something about sacrificing me.\"\nI paused, glancing around the room. \"He said he wanted me to be alert during\nthe eclipse.\"\nKato looked at me with a puzzled\nface, but his eyes wandered just past me. \"What?\" \n\"I don't know.\" My mind flashed\nback to Hale's vampire visitor who had seen me in the basement...Vladimir had\nsaid that Hale was in danger on the night of the eclipse, and that he had no\ninterest in helping him. Hale was in danger of something...\n\"What is it?\" Kato asked as his\neyes focused on mine.How should I explain the situation to him? I sighed and picked at\nmy own food. \"I was just remembering something that happened in the basement.\" \nKato's brows knit together in\nfrustration, and the pain on his face returned. I opened my mouth but remained\nsilent for a few moments as I wondered how to ease his pain.\n\"No it was just...\" I stuttered.\n\"It wasn't related to that. Hale brought someone down to see me, a vampire\nnamed Vladimir. They spoke briefly about the eclipse.\"\nKato tossed his knife down. \"It\ndoesn't matter if it relates to that.\"\nKato spat. \"Everything that happened to you down there was horrible.\"\nI chewed on a piece of food. I\ndidn't know how to respond without making him angry, or more hurt, and I also didn't\nwant to think about the basement. Kato held his forehead in his hands for a\nmoment.\n\"I've heard of Vladimir, but I'm\nnot sure about the details.\" He said, still holding a hand over his forehead.\n\"My only guess is that Hale wants to sacrifice you to somehow gain power.\"\n\"Or spite the Goddess.\" I\npointed out. \"He mentioned something about that, as well.\"\n\"Something doesn't seem right\nabout this.\" Kato said, exhaling deeply as his troubled thoughts masked his\nface.\n\"I know. Hale seems smarter than\nthat.\"\n\"Decipher.\" Kato's voice was so\nquiet I hardly heard him. I tilted my ears forward and leaned in closer. \"I\nhate him so much.\" He whispered, finally meeting my eyes. \nI still had a hard time\nunderstanding why my pain tormented him so much, especially when I seemed to be\nokay. It seemed that I was more at peace with the situation than he was. \n\"Why?\" I dared to ask. I suppose\nI knew the answer...but he had demanded to know why I couldn't get over Misha,\nand I wanted to know the same thing. It was true that I was curious about what\nwas going on with Misha, but I felt less emotionally invested in the situation\nthan Kato seemed to be.\n\"I don't understand why you\ncan't get over what he did...\" I continued hesitantly, \"Especially since he's not\ndoing anything to you.\" I paused with a surge of panic. \"Is he?\"\n\"No.\" Kato's harsh voice\nsilenced my thoughts. \"It's worse than that. He's doing it to the only thing I\nlove, and I have no choice but to sit back and watch.\"\nI sat in stunned silence. Kato\nhad just admitted his feelings. This was the moment Kato confessed his love for\nme, and it felt so painful. While his golden eyes burned into mine, I sat\nsilent. I wasn't sure how to react. \nI hadn't thought about the\nmoment Kato would say it, but I suppose I would have imagined it to feel better\nthan this. I guess love was something I never wanted to experience again, and\nall I felt was guilt. \n\"I'm so sorry.\" I whispered\nafter a few moments, trying to keep calm. \n\"Don't apologize.\" He snapped. I\nknew his anger wasn't directed at me, but I had never seen Kato so angry\nbefore, and it worried me. His rage was only building as he watched me interact\nwith Misha. Kato was the one to warn me\nabout rage, perhaps I should warn him. I thought to myself. But Kato was\nsmart, he wouldn't let rage control him...right?\n\"Do we have a plan?\" I asked in a poor\nattempt to change the subject.\nKato's expression softened, and\nhe sighed. He glanced at me with an apologetic expression. \"I'm not entirely\nsure. We can't just walk out the doors, unfortunately.\" He sighed. \"I have a\ndevice implanted in my tattoo that will allow them to track me. I can destroy\nit, but as soon as I do, Reck will become aware of the situation. It'll send a\nmental update to him on my intentions.\"\n\"But then you can just transform\ninto your phoenix self, right?\" I whispered. \"How well can you fly in the\ncold?\" \n\"It will be hard, but we don't\nhave to make it far. Once we're in Skyfall, we have protection.\" Kato said as\nhe looked around the room. \"Legends tell of a population of dark elves living\ndeep within the western mountain...past the Edge.\"\n\"Where you tried to take me\nbefore.\" I mused, remembering the stone deep within the cracks of the mountain,\nand the hidden trail that snaked past it. \nKato's head jerked towards the\ndoor as Misha wandered into the dining hall. He glanced back at me. \"Fuck.\" He\nsaid through grit teeth, clenching his knife.\n\"Don't. He's mine to deal with.\"\nI said, glaring in Misha's direction. \"I'll kill him.\"\nKato's grip on the knife\nremained tight, but his shoulders seemed to release some tension. \"What changed\nyour mind?\" He asked as Misha walked past us on his way to get food.\n\"I don't want the option of\ngoing back to him.\" I whispered. \"I'm afraid that I'm going to remain his slave\nforever, and I want the pain he causes everyone to stop.\" A chill ran up my spine\nas I quietly said the words. I looked back at Misha, who gave me a small wave\nin response.\nI looked back at Kato, who had\nlet go of the knife. I noticed a few drops of blood on his hands...had he been\ngripping the blade? I sighed.\n\"Fine.\" He said. \"But if you\ndon't, I will.\"\n\"Deal.\"\nMisha walked over to our table,\nbut I shot him a look that warned him to stay away from us. He seemed to\nlisten, and didn't argue. His face looked sad and subdued as he walked away,\nwhich made it so much harder to imagine ripping him to shreds.\nKato and I finished our meals in silence. I knew Kato needed a way to\nrelease his rage, and I hoped he would be able to stay calm throughout dinner.\nI was going to have to confront\nMisha. I swallowed hard as I watched him eating. Would he try and talk to me\nafter dinner? I was tempted to try and escape before he could.\n\"Fallen!\" Hale's voice echoed.\nKato's head jerked upwards as the tension built again. I could tell he was\noffended by the term.\n\"Do you still have it?\" I whispered\nas quietly as I could. \"The vial?\"\nKato's blazing eyes burned into\nme as a definite YES etched into my\nmind. Talk to me in your head from now\non. We shouldn't risk speaking out loud.\nI opened my mouth to speak, but\nthen nodded and sent him a quiet okay.\nKato stood up and approached\nHale at the entrance. \"Yes, sir?\" He spat without a hint of respect.\n\"A guard didn't return from his\nrounds. Go check the perimeter.\" Hale pointed towards the doors. I helplessly\nwatched Kato nod and storm out towards the snow, hoping he would stay warm.\nHale turned and began to walk\nout. He didn't seem to be as cheerful as he was earlier. I wondered if he was\nactually worried about something, or if he was just sending Kato out because he\nsensed his rage. I turned my head back towards Misha, only to see that he was walking\ntowards me. I let out an annoyed groan as he approached me. \n\"Hey.\" He said as innocently as\nhe could fake. \"How are you?\"\n\"I'm doing great.\" I lied as I glared\nat him.\nHe rubbed his head. I couldn't\nsee his arm beneath his white coat, and I wondered if he had healed already,\nand who he had used to do so.\n\"Walk with me.\" He said. The\ncommand was more of a plea, but my body stood and followed him anyways. I tried\nto stay calm...I was going to kill him very soon, but I couldn't let him know\nthat.\nHe led me towards his room\nagain, the place that had started all of this. My heart raced as the memory\nstained my thoughts. \n\"I'm so sorry.\" He said softly.\n\"I'm trying...\"\n\"Trying isn't good enough.\" I\nsaid through grit teeth. \"Do you even want to still be alive?\"\n\"You saved me once again. I\ndon't know why.\"\n\"Are you sure you don't know?\" I\nquestioned as we approached his door. \nHe turned to face me. \"I don't\nthink you love me.\" He said. \"As much as I wish you did.\"\nThe word made my stomach turn.\nHow was that the first thing his mind went to? He stepped aside and gestured\nfor me to enter his room. I shoved past him and entered the dark room with cold\nfirelight.\n\"I know what you are.\" I said\nsoftly, softer than I wanted to. \"I know what you can do to emotions. I know\nyour game. Don't deny it; I won't tolerate it.\"\nMisha's face was blank as he\ntried to hold back his fear. Was that shame I saw on his face?\n\"I know...I know I've lied.\" Misha\nsaid, holding his hands up. \"I've lied a lot, but I was in denial! Hale was\nright, no one would believe me if I told them.\" \n\"Oh, so it's Hale's fault again?\nWhat are you really searching for?\" I snarled. My patience was thin, and I\nwasn't going to let him blame Hale for what he had done. \"You're no human.\"\n\"I don't want to be a monster! I\nnever wanted this.\"\nHis words stabbed into me. I\nstared at his sad, hurt expression, and took a step backwards. No. I squeezed my eyes shut. Don't even think about it. He still had a\nchoice. Look at what he's done. \n\"I need your help.\" Misha cried,\nstepping towards me. I inhaled sharply as his hand touched my wrist, feeling\nthe familiar panic wash over me.\n\"What happened to you?\" Misha\nasked, pulling up my sleeve to look at the dried blood on my arm. \"Are you\nalright?\"\n\"Hale happened to me.\" I said\nflatly. I had forgotten about the incision, but I was grateful for the subject\nchange. I noticed the incision had become damp with fresh blood again. I\nreached inside my jacket pocket and felt my dagger to make sure it was still\nthere. \n\"Hale?\" Misha asked, examining\nthe wound closer. \"Shit. What did you do to him? Come on, I'll fix you up.\"\nI glanced down to see a lot more\nblood had leaked out than I had thought, and my increased heartbeat was forcing\nmore liquid through the raw tissue. The incision seemed to be deeper than it was\nbefore as Misha examined it.\n\"It...It's fine.\" I shook my head,\ntrying to ignore the memories that clouded my mind.\nThe moment was surreal, and my\nmind was taken back to the first time Misha had tended to my wounds. I felt\nlike vomiting, and I couldn't breathe very well. I couldn't kill Misha right\nnow. I did pity him, but that wasn't\nwhat kept me from killing him. If I killed him now, I'd have to hide it for an\nentire day...Hale would find out for sure. I stared at Misha as he grabbed a\ncloth from his desk and dabbed at the wound.\n\"There's a serum I can give you\nthat'll seal the wound up.\" Misha said. \"Come on.\"\nI stood still. I wasn't sure I\nwanted any serum, and I certainly didn't want to go to the medical center.\nAlthough, the alternative was staying here in Misha's room. I glanced at the\nwound again, had Hale done something worse than slicing my arm open? It\ncertainly felt worse.\n\"Here, keep pressure on it. It's\nstarting to bleed a lot.\"\nI nodded weakly and pressed the\ncloth into my wound. It stung now.\n\"Follow me.\" He said. My body\nreacted as if it were a command. My ears twitched. I had no intent to disobey\nhim, so why was my body reacting like this?\nI quickly found out why. Misha\nwas leading me down the hallway in the opposite direction of the medical\nwing...towards the basement.No. No. No. My mind whimpered. I might have actually whimpered as\nwell. No. I escaped. Fuck. I can't go\nback there. My mind was in a full blown panic, and blood was spurting out\nof the wound.\nMisha turned to me. \"Calm down!\"\nHe said, \"I know, bad things happened to you down here. But this is where my\nlab is! Just relax, okay?\" \nI tried, but failed. I gripped\nonto my burning arm, and felt my pulse as my body lost its blood. We wandered\ndown the dark steps, and my body became numb. I couldn't control it anymore. I\nwas Misha's bitch right now, and I couldn't seem to calm myself enough to fight\nit. \nI lost track of my steps as we\nentered the dark fortress of the basement. Misha led me into his lab, which was\ncovered in vials and beakers of tubes of liquid suspended in holders. I looked\naway and tried not to think about what they contained.\nMisha dug around in the pale,\nfluorescent lights. The bright white blurred my vision, and I began to feel ill.\nI guess I still hadn't recovered from my day out in the cold, or maybe it was\nthe triggered emotions that rendered my body weak. \nI stumbled as I heard the\nfamiliar sound of glass clink against metal. Misha turned as I bumped into some\nthings on the table. \n\"Here...come sit down.\" He said,\ntaking my hand and leading me into another room. My mind was too hazy to care\nabout his touch. \"It'll only take me a minute to prepare it. Try to relax.\"\nI resisted as he dragged me into\nthe hallway. \"No!\" I growled. \"Stop, I don't want it.\"\n\"Decipher. You have to,\notherwise you're going to get a lot more sick!\"\n\"Just let it heal on its own!\" I\nsnarled. \"Bandage it up.\"\n\"You've been poisioned,\nDecipher! Hale's a vampire! I'm willing to bet that since you're in a wolf\nbody, vampire venom is toxic to you.\" Misha yelled, clutching my arm again.\n\"Now come on.\"\nDazed, I thought back to when\nHale had made the incision. I really wasn't aware of what he had done; I had\nbeen too preoccupied sifting through his memories...Then I recalled the moment he\nlicked the blood from his fingers. There was already a spot of blood on the\nside of his face when he brought his bloody fingers to his lips... \nMy attention snapped back to\nMisha as he dragged me into another room. He sat me down in a place that was\ndisturbingly familiar. I closed my eyes and ignored the memories that tormented\nme while Misha disappeared into the other room. \nMy head was spinning. What is wrong with me? I whined softly. Calm down. Nothing's happening. You aren't\nbound. You won't stay down here. Misha doesn't want to hurt you. I fell\nbackwards onto the metal table as my vision blurred. \nAfter a few moments, I heard the\nsound of my blood dripping down off my arm and splattering onto the floor.\nEverything else was silent. I felt something else dripping out alongside my\nblood, but I couldn't comprehend what. My mind was gone.\nMisha's touch sent a shock\nthrough my body. He clutched onto my arm as he slid the needle deep into the\nmuscle. His touch mixed with the sting of the needle sent a paralyzing pain through\nmy blood. I wanted to react; to whine, or yell, or thrash around, but I\ncouldn't.\nI felt my blood rush out as my\nbody poured itself out onto the floor. I no longer existed in the world I was\ncurrently in...I dripped away into nothing.\n\"Decipher?\"\nHearing my name hurt. Hearing\nMisha's voice call my name hurt even more.\n\"Hey!\" He shouted. \"Come on.\nDon't pass out. Stay with me!\" \nHale...He wanted me to be\ncompliant, to be nothing, and it was so very tempting to let his cold energy\nnumb me. His intent surrounded my thoughts, and the urge to sacrifice myself to\nhis will possessed me. I fought the waves of pain that struck my body before\nleaving me numb.\nSomething else was dripping out\nwith my blood, something heavy and important-my energy. No, not just my energy,\nbut my life force. I have a soul, and\nit's being destroyed. \nMy mind grabbed onto Misha's\nfrantic voice as he yelled at me. He clutched onto my arm and shook my head\nwith his hand. His touch was so painful. The pain helped me focus on what was\nreal. He was real. What he had done to me was real. I was wounded, but not\ndestroyed. Carefully, I began to piece myself back together. I felt a bit of\nwarmth suck back into the wound as I twisted against the pain.\nAs if nothing had happened, I was suddenly awake.\nMy vision was clear, and Misha was hovering over me. I suddenly felt\nconflicted. Was this what Hale had been referring to when he said I would fight\nhim? Had I somehow made things better for him? It was difficult to remain calm.\nHale had probably planned this somehow, but what did he have to gain from this?\n\"Hey!\" Misha said\nenthusiastically, shaking me from my fears. I groggily sat up as he pulled me\nforward. I looked down to the floor, where not much blood had fallen. I blinked\nseveral times as I tried to figure out what was happening. \n\"Take it easy.\" Misha said,\npetting my chest. \"It seems like there wasn't much venom in your system, and\nthe antidote cleared it up nicely.\" \nThe kindness I was receiving\nfrom Misha was unnerving, but I decided to ignore my fears and try to take\nadvantage of the situation. Hopefully, he wouldn't try anything tonight, and\neverything could wait until I had a plan formulated for tomorrow. \n\"Decipher?\" \nMy eyes jerked towards his inky\nblack eyes. \"Sorry. I'm having a hard time focusing.\"\nHe smiled at me, the same smile\nhe had given me when he'd come back to the basement to watch me die. My anger\nslowly began to return.\n\"Come on. You should get some rest.\" He said,\noffering me a hand up. \n\"Where are we going?\" I asked as\nmy head spun. I didn't want to fall asleep in the basement, but I also didn't\nfeel like I was going to make it if I tried to walk out.\n\"I thought we'd go to your room, or mine is\ncloser I guess.\" Misha said as he helped me stand. \"How does your wrist feel?\"\nMy head spun at his words. How do your legs feel? He had asked the\nfirst time...\nI looked down to the area where\nthe wound had been. The incision had sealed up and formed a fresh-looking scar.\nI moved my fingers a few times, and then turned to Misha.\n\"It feels fine.\" I said, a bit\nsurprised. \"But I'm exhausted.\"\nMisha looked away from me. \"I\nknow what Hale wants to do.\" He confessed. \"I don't want to let him.\"\nI wobbled at his words, and sank\nback down onto the table. I sat still and looked at contrasting blood red\nagainst the white floor. Misha was lying. He was acting again, just like he had\ndone before. I could never forgive him. Was he trying to convince me that he\nwasn't a bad person? Or was I just being a fool with my emotions again?\n\"You can't stop Hale.\" I said\nafter a few moments. \"You've never tried before. Why would you now? How can I\ntrust you?\"\n\"Because I love you!\" He yelled.\n\n\"Then why did you let him do\nthis to me?\" No answer would satisfy me, but I had to ask.\n\"It was a mistake.\" Misha\nwhispered. \"I don't want to be controlled by Hale anymore...\"\nI'd had enough. I stood and\nshoved Misha. \"Hale didn't tell you to rape me!\" I snarled, finally brave\nenough to say what I had been thinking.\nMisha backed up into the wall.\n\"I...Yeah, that's my fault...but I can't help what I am!\"\n\"Don't you dare! You are what\nyou chose to be.\" I roared and shoved him up against the wall. \"You could have\nchosen real love.\" I growled. \"All I ever wanted was to be loved by you!\"\nMy body began to shake, and I\nknew I wasn't going to last. I released my grip on Misha and stumbled towards\nthe table. I collapsed over it as my thoughts screamed. Why did you have to be so fucking evil? I just wanted to love you.\nMy mind cried as I began to lose consciousness.\nMisha began talking to me, but I\ncouldn't hear him. My body couldn't handle the physical and emotional stress\nthat had been placed on it, and I passed out against the cold, metal table. \n The\nnext thing I was aware of was laying on a soft, comfortable surface. I didn't\nwant to move. I was warm and wrapped in a blanket that cushioned my entire\nbody.\nThen, I became aware of a warm\nbody next to me, a small figure that curled into me. I slowly opened my eyes to\nobserve my surroundings. \nThe bed became far less\ncomfortable as I realized I was still in the basement. I frantically checked my\nwrists and ankles, and was relieved to see there were no bonds. Misha was\nwearing a t-shirt and his boxers, and I was still wearing my black pants and\nt-shirt. I glanced to the floor to see my jacket had been folded and placed on\na chair. What time was it? Had I slept through the night? I jumped upwards,\nshaking Misha awake.\n\"What time is it?\" I demanded.\nMisha yawned and blinked a few\ntimes as he glanced at his wrist. \"Mid-breakfast.\" He said as he rubbed his\neyes. \"Are you feeling better?\"\nI nodded as I stared into his\neyes. They had returned to the deep brown color I had originally seen. My heart\nraced as I realized how little time I had left. I needed to find Kato and speak\nwith him about tomorrow...\n\"Good. Why don't we go to\nbreakfast?\" Misha asked as he rolled out of the bed. He slipped his lab coat\nover his white t-shirt and began to put on his shoes. I glanced at his arms,\nand didn't see any marks. I narrowed my eyes, wondering how he had healed. \nI found my jacket and slipped it\non over my undershirt, and followed him out the door in silence. \n\"Sorry we had to spend the night\ndown here.\" Misha said after a few tense moments. \"It must have been rough.\"\n\"What makes you care now?\" I\nasked, more curious than angry.\n\"Decipher, it's not like I\nwanted you to be down here.\"\n\"You're the one that handed me\nto Hale.\" I sighed. We were repeating ourselves again. I trusted you. I thought, tempted to say it one more time.\nMisha became silent as we\nclimbed the stairs out of the basement. You\njust know you're in danger now. I thought, glaring at Misha's sad\nexpression for a moment. My pace quickened as we neared the light. \nMisha sighed, \"Hale knew-\"\n\"Don't bother repeating\nyourself.\" I snapped. I was tired of hearing his excuses.\nIn attempt to distance myself\nfrom Misha, I walked quickly down the hallway and towards the dining hall. When\nI reached the main entrance, my eyes scanned the area for Kato, but I didn't\nsee him. \nI peered inside the dining hall\nand scanned the area, but he wasn't there. I quickly turned and walked towards\nthe large, glass doors of the main entrance. Should I go looking for him?\nMisha was walking into the\ndining hall, watching me with curious eyes. \n\"Do you know where Kato is?\" I\nsnapped. \nHe shook his head in response,\nand then continued into the dining hall. I sighed and decided to check the\narena before I went out into the cold. At least Misha was giving me some space.\nI kept an eye out for Caliber on\nmy way to the arena, but didn't see him either. When I entered the gym doors, I\nsaw a few guards sparring on one half of the field, but Kato wasn't there. I\nstepped out and glanced inside the locker room, and moved towards the showers.\nThere wasn't anyone in there, either.\nPanic was beginning to choke me, and I\nbecame afraid Kato hadn't returned from checking the perimeter. Quickly, I\nwalked towards the dining hall again. I should try and eat and remain calm for\nthe time being, and perhaps ask the information desk for his whereabouts\nafterwards.\nMisha was off at his own table\neating already. He watched me as I wandered over to get food, his eyes pleading\nwith me to join him. I cringed when I realized he was the only distraction I\nhad right now, and maybe he knew something.\nI grabbed a random assortment of\nfood and wandered back to his table, defeated as I sank down across from him.\n\"Hale sent him out to check the\nperimeter after a guard didn't return last night.\" I mumbled as I picked at my\nfood.\n\"He's probably fine.\" Misha\nshrugged. \"Kato's experienced with combat, I'm sure Hale just sent him out to\ntake care of whatever's causing a problem.\"\nWe sat in silence for the rest\nof the meal as I tried to ignore the worry gnawing at me. Tomorrow was the big\nday we would escape...tomorrow night. Wait. I thought, staring at Misha. Whatever's causing a problem? Maybe Hale really is concerned. Vladimir\nmade it sound like something threatened Hale's life...is someone going to attack\nhim on the night of the eclipse? \nA guard approached Misha and\nsaid something to him. I didn't hear him, but Misha's face concerned me. Misha\nwas staring at me with an alarmed expression as the guard walked away.\n\"What is it?\" I demanded.\n\"I'm needed in the medical\nfacility.\" He said, quickly standing and dashing out.Kato! I thought as I took off after him Misha.\nMisha turned to me as I caught\nup with him. \"Stay out of my way.\" He warned me. \nI had no choice but to behave as\nI followed Misha through the doors. He stopped to speak with the receptionist,\nwho gave him some paperwork. \nMy heart raced as I watched\nMisha flip through it. He furrowed his brows and checked his pockets, cursing\nas he turned to face me.\n\"I need something from my\noffice. Kato's in the second door on the right.\" He said, gesturing to one of\nthe rooms. \"Don't cause any trouble. You'll need to get out once I get back.\"\nI dashed towards the door, not\ncaring to think about what Misha had said. I just needed to know Kato was going\nto be okay.\nUpon entering the room, I saw\nKato's beaten body lying unconscious in the bed. His face was spotted dark\npurple, and he had an oxygen mask hooked up to his face, along with tubes that\nran into his veins. His arms were heavily bandaged as well, and dark blood had\nsoaked through most layers of the white fabric. I whined as I ran to his side.\n\"Kato!\" I shouted. He didn't\nrespond, and his heartbeat continued to beep from the machine next to us. I\nbegan to shake. Kato... I cried out to him mentally. Are you okay? Please tell me you'll be okay.\nI felt his energy struggle\nwithin my mind, and I latched onto it. I offered him some of my own energy so\nthat he could respond. With a gasp, I felt his exhausted energy rush into me.I was attacked by a slithurm. The venom is toxic to feathered beasts.\nHis voice chimed in my head. Misha has a\nserum I'm sure, but...\nMy ears fell. What is it? I asked, considering the hundreds\nof drawbacks the treatment could have. I don't think I'll be able to transform into a phoenix. They're going\nto double up on the dose that keeps me from being unable to transform...What are we going to do? I cried. Tomorrow Kato...it's tomorrow night! We have to escape! You're a phoenix!\nCan't you heal?Not when I'm so heavily drugged. We'll figure it out. Kato wheezed\nin my mind. Calm down. \nI turned to the doorway, where a\nnurse was speaking to Misha as he entered the room.\n\"He was found just a few hours\nago. He quickly lost consciousness after describing the incident. Many of his\nbones were broken by the slithurm. It probably wrapped around his body in\nattempts to eat him.\" The nurse said. I looked down at Kato's bruised body\nhelplessly. \n\"Have you cleared treatment with\nHale?\" Misha asked. \n\"Hale is occupied. You'll have\nto wait a few hours if you want clearance.\" The nurse said. \n\"How much time do I have?\" Misha\nlooked conflicted as he glanced up and stared at me for a moment. \n\"Not long. The toxin is already deep\ninto his system.\" The nurse sighed. \"His recovery will take a long time,\nespecially since we were unable to reach Hale before his meeting.\"\n\"I'll just have to beg for his\nforgiveness, then.\" Misha whispered, turning away from me. \nMy heart slammed against my\nribcage. Was he actually considering helping Kato without Hale's approval?\n\"Get me the serums. I'll work on\nmixing the antidote for his original treatment.\" Misha snapped as he moved to\nthe counter on the side of the wall and began to pull some vials out of his coat.\nThe nurse rushed to his side and began pulling things out of the cabinets.\n\"Leave, two-fifty-seven.\" Misha's\nvoice was flat.\nI swallowed hard and walked out\nof the room in a daze. There had to be something more to this...Misha wasn't just\nhelping Kato. There had to be an alternate motive I was unaware of. The nurse\nclosed the door behind me, and I shivered. I'm still going to kill Misha. I thought to myself. \nI felt Kato's pained energy as I heard some stirring in the room. Stay calm. We're still getting out. Kato's voice struck me. It'll be fine. His voice sounded hazy in\nmy mind as I stood motionless outside the door. \nSuddenly, he screamed outside of\nmy head. I turned to face the closed door and listen to the muffled yells. I\nclosed my eyes and took a step backwards. I couldn't stay here and listen to\nhim thrash around in pain. \nI walked out to the entrance of\nthe medical facility and sat down on the chairs. The lady behind the reception\ndesk stared at me, but my eyes weren't focusing on the world around me. I\nstared down at the shimmering, tile floor.\nThe glistening surface reflected\nmy face in it as I looked down at the ground. My black ears were laying down\nagainst my head, and my wide eyes looked fearful and panicked. I sighed.\nMaybe I did love Kato.\nI shivered and turned towards\nthe room he was in, hoping he would be okay. My ears twitched at the sounds of\nmovement and muffled cries coming from the other side of the door.I can heal Kato. I thought. With the sudden realization, I jumped\nup and dashed towards the closed door.\nI stopped outside the door and\nresisted the urge to barge in as I heard Misha speaking to the nurse behind the\ndoor. The noises from inside the room became quiet. Kato! I called out mentally. I\ncan try to help heal you...using magic!No. He responded. I'll be okay. Misha\nis actually doing a good job. I'll be fine. I just need rest.\nSuddenly, the door opened, and\nthe nurse jumped when she saw me standing right outside. I moved aside as she\nwalked past me.\nMisha was wiping bloody hands on\na rag and cleaning up his tools. I stood in the doorway staring at him. \n\"Who are you?\" I whispered,\nstunned at his behavior. \nCarefully, Misha forced his dark\neyes to face mine. He remained silent for a few moments, and then glanced to\nKato.\nThe oxygen mask had been removed\nfrom Kato's face, and all his bruises looked softer than they were before. The\nsheets were stained with blood, but I couldn't see any fresh wounds. The\nbandages on his arms had even been removed, and fresh scars replaced the gashes\nthat had been there before. I sighed with relief. \nMisha finished putting his tools\naway and walked towards me. I was still standing in the doorway when he walked\nby me. He brushed his hand against mine and sent me a pleading look on his way\nout. Every one of my muscles tensed while he slowly pulled away.\nI closed my eyes as he walked\naway. I had to think about this logically. Kato and I had both been poisoned,\nand then saved by Misha. This wasn't coincidence. Hale was giving Misha a\nchance to redeem himself to me, that's all it was. \nHale wanted me to love Misha...and\nit was humiliatingly difficult to resist.\nI shook my head and finally\nentered the small room. I sat on the chair beside Kato, who looked like he was\npeacefully sleeping. I whined softly as I leaned towards him, staring at his\nstill body. \nHe stirred in his sleep and\npulled at the blood-stained sheet. I pulled it up towards his face.\n\"Thanks, Decipher.\" Kato\nmumbled.\nI stopped near his face and\nstared down into his calm expression. His eyes opened just barely. \n\"For what, Kato?\" I whispered.\nHe smiled softly in response and\nbecame still again. I sat back in the chair and stared at him in silence. I\nshivered again and stuck my hands into my pockets. \nI glanced down at Kato's arm as\nhe shifted in bed, noticing that his tattoo had a faint, orange glow to it. It\nlooked like Misha hadn't given Kato the toxin that prevented him from\ntransforming just yet. I let myself smile a bit. Even if this was a set-up to\nmake me like Misha, Kato was closer to being himself, and I couldn't find fault\nin that. \nIn the cold, white room, I let\nthe image of the phoenix fill my mind, and my dreams kept me warm, if only just\nfor a few moments.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/598546-skyfall-chapter-24-i-m-so-sorry-for-the-upload-spam-update-screwed-me-over.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/608177-skyfall-chapter-26.json"}