{"sf1_id":616510,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Skyfall Chapter 28","author":"Abyssa","words":6517,"posted_at":"2013-11-21T03:33:00.000Z","tags":["Anthro","Fantasy","Human","Last chapter","Male","Phoenix","Wolf","the end"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/616510-skyfall-chapter-28","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/616510","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=616510\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"28\n I\nstared at the door for several long seconds. What was I going to do? I closed\nmy eyes and attempted to take a few deep breaths before I felt warmth growing\nin my chest.\nThe foreign energy moved around\ninside my chest, creeping up towards my head. It felt vaguely familiar, and I\nsuddenly realized what it was. Fleur? I asked.\nThe warmth spread through my\nentire body, calming me. I opened my eyes to see golden light flickering\ntowards the door.You'll be hidden for the moment, but you must hurry! Teleport now!\nI nodded, and closed my eyes\nagain. Where should I go?Kato! I screamed out for him. Kato,\nI need your help!\nWaiting for him to respond was painful. Fear\nparalyzed my body and mind. What's going on? Kato's voice finally replied. Are you okay? I did something bad! I don't know what to do. I'm trapped inside the\nmedical center...I need to teleport out...Calm down. His stern voice silenced my panic. Teleport to your room, I'll meet you there.\nI swallowed hard, and began to\nfocus on teleporting. My body shook violently as I felt Fleur's energy aid my\ntransportation. I blacked out briefly as my body was hurled into a different\ndimension.\nI felt myself slam down onto the\ncarpet of my room. My body spun and smeared red across the gray carpet. I\nclutched onto the ground and tried to push myself up, but my body heaved in attempt\nto vomit again. I was only able to cough up bits of bile and blood, which was\nall that was left in my stomach at this point.\nI fell back down against the\nfloor and stared at the door with blurred vision. Silence filled the air around\nme. My muscles ached from fighting the command, and my head was throbbing. \nThe door burst open, and I saw\nKato's distorted figure rush towards me. His blurred voice called out for me as\nhe reached me, holding his hands above me. I tried to focus my eyes as he\ncarefully placed his hand on me.\nWith a snarl, my eyes focused\nfor a brief moment, and I shoved Kato away from me. I jumped up and stumbled\nbackwards until I hit the wall, unable to control my body. Everything felt so\nchaotic.\n\"Decipher!\" Kato yelled. \"Calm\ndown, it's me! Are you bleeding?\"\nI whimpered and looked down at\nmy bloodstained body, where the crusty red fur was beginning to mat together.\n\"No...it's not my blood.\"\nI tried to breathe as best I\ncould. Finally, my eyes shifted into focus and I was calm enough to look at\nKato. \n\"Tell me what happened.\" He\nsaid, carefully stepping closer to me. \"Are you alright?\"\nMy eyes squeezed shut. \"I think\nso.\" I said with a shiver. \"I can't talk about it. I didn't mean to...I shouldn't\nhave...\" My eyes fell back to the bloody, wet fur between my legs, and I felt\nsick again. \"I...I need to get cleaned up.\"\nKato reached his hand out, and I\nmoved off of the wall with shaking steps. Unable to steady myself, I clutched\nonto his hand.\n\"Deep breaths, Decipher.\" Kato\nsaid, holding on to me tightly. I'm sure he knew what I had done, and he was probably\nglad. \"Is he dead?\" \nMy tail swished. \"He's taken\ncare of.\" \nKato didn't press for any more\ndetails as we entered the bathroom. He turned on the hot water and helped me\ninto the tub. I sank down slowly, and began to scrub the red from my fur. I\nfelt dizzy as my mind repeated the event in my head.I begged you to stop. I thought. But you just kept going. You're about to know what that's like.\nBut he had known what it was like...Misha had\nbeen abused before. What made me think it was okay to turn into him? I whined\nas my shaking hands scrubbed the blood away.\nKato stood and watched me with concerned\neyes. I stared up at him with desperation and fear. I locked eyes with him for\na few moments before I forced myself to look away and finish washing off.I don't deserve him. I can never risk hurting Kato.\nKato bent down beside the tub\nand stared in at me. \"Hey.\" He whispered. \"It's okay. You did what you had to\ndo.\"\nI avoided his eyes. I still\ndidn't feel right about what had happened. My white fur was stained with rusty\nred, and no amount of soap would bleach it back. I exhaled slowly and opened\nthe drain, letting the tainted water pour out. \nI stood carefully, and Kato\noffered me a towel. My eyes tried to avoid looking at him. \"What happened\nduring your meeting with Hale?\" I asked softly.\n\"I don't know.\" Kato said,\nrubbing his wrist. \"Some kind of injection. I think they wanted to alter my\nelement...I think that Hale wants me dead instead of you.\"\nI glanced at his wrist as I\ndried myself off with the towel. It was bandaged. With a nod, I swallowed hard.\n\"Yeah. I found out what Misha did.\" I said with a shiver. \"I know what he did\nto you. It was his fault you were attacked by the slithurm, too.\" I looked away\nfrom Kato, who didn't respond.\n\"We should just go now.\" I said.\n\"They're going to find out...They're going to find Misha soon.\" \n\"We have to wait.\"\n\"We don't have time!\" I shouted.\n\"Come on, we have to move now. We have to just go. Where's the antidote?\"\n\"We can't just run!\" Kato\nyelled, looking around once he realized how loud he was being. He glared at me.\nWe have to wait until Hale is distracted\nwith the eclipse...Where is he now? I asked, gripping my head as Kato's voice echoed\nin it.\nA rumbling in the ground turned\nour attention towards the door. Suddenly, a thunderous boom shook the entire\nbuilding. Kato and I both ran to look out the window. A crack was forming in\nthe corner of the window, I watched as it snaked up and shattered across the\nentire, glass pane. A gust of wind completely shattered the window and sent icy\nwind raging into the room. \nKato was knocked back several\nsteps and shouted, \"Shit! This can't be good. Come on, Decipher! We have to\nmove!\"\nI shivered as the icy wind assaulted\nmy wet body. I tried to quickly focus on drying myself off, but another loud\ncrashing sound distracted me, and I ended up sending a streak of fire across my\nbody, which dried me but also singed my fur lightly.\n\"Decipher!\" \nI yelled out in frustration and\nfell to the ground. The fire had left a slight burning sensation, but I didn't\nseem to be hurt.\n\"I'm fine!\" I said, carefully\nstanding quickly and trying to find some clothes. The building continued to\nshake and rumble as I wrapped myself in a warm jacket and stumbled into some\npants.\n\"Come on, let's go!\" Kato\nshouted, rushing to the door.\nKato and I ran out into the\nhallway, where red lights and loud alarms were blaring. \n\"TRIL must be under attack.\"\nKato said as we bolted down towards the information desk.\n\"Does this mean we can run now?\"\nI asked, panting.\nKato shot me a smirk. \"I suppose\nthis is a good enough distraction.\" \nThe information desk was empty. We\nstopped and stared through the glass windows, only to see guards running around\nmadly and shooting at a massive snake that was slithering around, swallowing\nthem whole. The snake let out a shrieking hiss as its fangs ripped into the\nguards. \nMy eyes widened with fear. Where's the antidote? I hid it! I'll have to go get it.  Where is\nit? Stay here! He shouted at me before turning and running back down\nthe hallway. I stood in place, unsure of what to do. Wait, Kato! But he was gone. I thought of following him, but I\ndidn't dare disobey him this time. \nPanicked, I stared helplessly\ndown at the carnage. More snakes had begun to pour into the main entrance. Some\nguards were using some kind of energy guns and others were using bows. Others\nhad bladed weapons. I noticed some humanoid figures fighting as well, which\nwere probably vampires. Then I noticed a shadow.\nMy head jerked towards my shadow,\nwhich was moving. It ripped itself off of my figure and lunged at me, roaring\nmadly. With a growl of pain, I slammed into the glass, hearing it crack against\nmy skull. I groaned and swiped back at the beast, punching it in the jaws.\nThe shadow stumbled backwards\nand snarled before twisting and becoming disfigured. I looked around for\nanything I could use as a weapon. When I looked back, the shadow had\ntransformed into Misha once again. \n\"I'm back!\" It shrieked in a\nvoice disturbingly similar to Misha's.\nI snarled and lunged at it. It\ndissipated and appeared behind me. I snatched a chair from behind the\ninformation desk and tossed it at the shadow. My bones began to shift and\ncrunch as the wolf tore into me and took over my muscles. I growled and turned\nto face the shadow, which was right behind me.\nIt stabbed it's hand right into\nmy chest, and I felt the familiar pressure in my heart. The smile...Misha's\nwicked smile...taunted me as my body froze.\nI couldn't move as it shifted closer to my\nbody, using its free hand to rub down my abdomen, tracing the bloodstains.\nBlood was beginning to drip from the corner of my mouth as I sputtered from the\npain in my chest.\n\"You're not capable of love.\" He\nhissed. I felt my heart slamming against his fingers. \"You don't deserve it.\"\nI snarled and shoved him with\nall my might, causing his hand to rip out of my chest. I screamed in pain as\nhis inky fingers released their grip.\n\"Don't believe me?\" It chided.\n\"Just wait until you destroy Kato.\"\nMy\nvision became blurry suddenly. The shadow seemed to split into two, and I could\nsee the blurry figure of the wolf in me forming over Misha. I couldn't watch\nthis again...I growled and charged at the shadowy figures. This is all you'll ever be! Its voice echoed in my head.\nI crashed into the glass and\nheard it shatter. Before I was aware of what was happening, I slammed into\nsomeone below me. The shattered glass fell around me and sliced us both. I had\nfallen onto a guard, who gripped me by the throat and pulled me up.\n\"Sir. I have him here.\" I heard\nthe guard say.\nMy body was in shock from the\nfall, and I was bleeding from various scratches. I tried to struggle away from\nthe guard, but failed. Just as he was about to slip bonds over my wrists, a slithurm\ncame right at us. The guard cursed and drew his weapon, allowing me enough time\nto slip out of his grip. I ran towards the exit, shivering from the cold wind\nthat was pouring into the building from various cracks and holes. \nI dodged the guards around me,\nwho were all more or less distracted fighting their opponents. I stepped across\ndead bodies and slipped in inky shadow blood. With a whimper, I was brought to\nmy knees as something sharp impaled my shoulder. \nI looked down to see an arrow\nstabbing into my shoulder, and felt dizzy. It was poisoned with something. I\nfell as I tried to fight the drug. I sank down and focused my mind on\npreventing the drug from affecting me. With a few deep breaths, I was able to stop\nit from paralyzing me.\nSuddenly, I became aware of the\nbattle around me again. My attention quickly snapped into focus as someone\nrushed at me. I was punched in the stomach and grabbed by the scruff of my\nneck. I twisted and dodged another hit as I turned to look at my attacker. He\nlooked like a vampire, but far less threatening than Hale or Vladimir. This\nvampire looked like a regular human with pale skin and fangs. \nThe vampire gripped my arm and\nbent it at an awkward angle behind my back, making me snarl in pain. He opened\nhis mouth and lunged at my neck, but I ducked and avoided his fangs. He jerked\nmy arm. I heard a snapping sound in my shoulder, but I didn't have time to\nregister the pain. Adrenaline was coursing through my body too heavily for the\npain to affect me.\nThe vampire grabbed a hold of\nthe arrow in my shoulder and twisted it, causing me to yelp and stumble. I\nshook my arm away from him, causing the arrow to snap. Having been released\nfrom his grip, I spun around and drove my fangs into his neck. I felt the\nfamiliar crunch as his windpipe was\ncrushed, and I quickly ripped his head off. I wanted to make sure the vampire\nstayed dead.\nI stumbled backwards into the\nwreckage of the shattered wall, trying to hide. Carefully, I pulled the broken\narrow out of my shoulder, wincing as the snags on the arrow tore my flesh. \nWhen I looked back out at the\nbattlefield, I saw dead bodies everywhere. Oh\nno...Caliber! I suddenly realized. I frantically scanned the area for him,\nbut I couldn't see anything through the bloody smears and smashed armor that\nwas shattered across the floor. Fuck.\nKato! Where are you? I cried out.\nSomeone spotted me, a guard. I\nturned and ran into the giant pieces of stone walls that had crumbled. I\ncrawled through the ruins and found a dark area to hide myself in. Luckily, the\nguard seemed to lose sight of me, and turned his attention on something else. \nI sat in the dark shelter,\nwaiting for Kato to respond as I gripped onto my shoulder. The puncture wound\nstung, and it was snapped out of place. I groaned as I pushed myself up against\nthe stone. I attempted to pop my shoulder back into place, but I couldn't get\nit at the right angle. I turned to the wall and place my arm on it, pressing hard\nuntil I heard my joints snap back. I let out a loud growl and fell to my knees\nfrom the pain, still gripping my shoulder tightly. Kato... I called out again, panting heavily.\nSuddenly, something cleared the\nstone from in front of me. It shattered to dust as an explosive energy was shot\nthrough it, and Hale was suddenly standing in front of me. I stared up at him\nhelplessly. \nHe quickly swooped down and\ngripped me by the neck. A blast of energy sent a paralyzing shock through my\nbody, and then I noticed Reck standing off to the side. He was doing this. Hale\nwas weak right now, I could tell by the look in his tired, fluid eyes.\nHale dragged me out of the\nbuilding and into the courtyard. I looked up to the sky and saw that the sun\nwas beginning to set. With a sigh, he tossed me into the snow. There were a few\ndead bodies blotted in the snow, mixed with streaks from the snakes that had\nslithered through, but otherwise it seemed unchanged. \n\"I don't know where the phoenix\nis.\" Hale sighed. \"But I can't afford to wait any longer.\"\nI stared up at Hale, backing up\nas he stepped towards me. The snow was deep and I shivered as it penetrated the\ntears in my jacket. I listened as screams of pain and sounds of shattering\nglass echoed out into the courtyard. \nHale bent down and stared into\nmy eyes as snow fell around us. He looked calm and ready to kill me. I opened\nmy mouth to speak, when suddenly the air around me fell completely silent.\n\"It's a bit early, I know.\" Hale\nsaid, looking up at the golden sky. \"But if I don't do this now, we're all\ngoing to die.\"\nThe air was still. The\nsnowflakes had stopped falling from the sky, and stood still in the stagnant\nair. The golden light from the sun sat trapped as it beamed down from the sky\nand reflected off the white snow.\n\"It might not work.\" Reck's\nvoice shook me.\n\"What would you suggest we do?\"\n\"Destroy him.\" \n\"That's suicide. Vladimir would\nhave my head.\"\nI listened and tried to remain\ncalm. Vladimir's brother must be the one attacking Hale, and Hale did not want\nto kill him...he wanted to remain on Vladimir's good side. \n\"He is attacking you. It will be\nself-defense.\"\nHale sighed. I watched as he\nconsidered his options. He looked conflicted and concerned, a look I had never\nseen upon the vampire's face. \nReck stared at Hale\nemotionlessly. \"Why not offer him a trade?\"\nHale looked back at me, and\nsnatched me up by the scruff of my neck. He stared into my eyes with a curious\nexpression as he thought. I swallowed hard and tried to avoid thinking about\nwhat he would be trading me for.\n\"I cannot hold time forever.\"\nReck said, interrupting Hale's thoughts. He looked back at Reck and nodded.\nSuddenly, I felt a rush of air\nas the world around me swirled and disappeared. The next thing I was aware of\nwas standing in the center of the battlefield that the main entrance had\nbecome, and everyone around us was still frozen. With a flash of light, they\nanimated again and the fighting continued. But the scene was distorted;\nsomething seemed off about it. It was like watching a recording that skipped\nevery few frames. Certain motions were blurred and some moved faster than\nothers. \nI turned and saw Reck standing\nnext to Hale and I. Hale's hand gripped the back of my head, and my body was\nparalyzed. I was hardly aware of what was happening as I heard Hale begin to\nspeak. I couldn't comprehend the words, everything was distorted and the sounds\nall ran together.\nI became aware of another\npowerful figure across the room, and decided that Hale was speaking to\nVladimir's brother, or whoever it was that he didn't want to kill.\nThe two were having a\nconversation, making a deal. I could feel Hale's intent as his energy paired\nwith Reck's to apprehend me. I turned to Hale slowly, looking him in his bloody\neyes.You need to know. I whispered to his mind. Even if I die, you need to know.\nHale turned to me and drove his fangs into my neck quickly. I howled in\npain as my body snapped out of its paralysis. I whined as his venom began to\ndrip into my bloodstream. I closed my eyes and focused on sending him the\nmessage. I struggled to shoot the memories into his venomous energy, but I had\nto...I wanted him to know what Misha had done, and what I had done to him. Hale\nwouldn't know everything, just enough to condemn him.\nFinally, I felt his barrier\nrelent, and the memories shot into his mind. I couldn't control it. He saw everything\nMisha had done to me, the lies, the pain, the mental anguish...and then Misha's\nmemories that I had invaded. I gave it all up to Hale's invasive energy, and I\nfelt his fangs drive farther into my neck.\nMy knees buckled and I was no\nlonger supporting myself, I was being held up by Hale's fangs. I hung from his\nteeth for what seemed like an eternity as the venom from his fangs poured into my\nbody. \nAs the last of the memories were\nreleased from my tormented mind, I felt Hale's fangs release my neck. He spun\nme around and stared at me with a strange expression. Pity, perhaps? No. I was\nimagining things. I wasn't sure what was happening, but suddenly, he felt\ndifferent.\nMy mind was becoming blurry, and\nI was losing consciousness. Fire snaked through my body and caused intense pain\nwhenever I tried to move. I tried to focus on fighting the venom, but I\ncouldn't. My muscles shook in reaction, and I knew I was going to die. I was\nsure. I closed my eyes.I'm sorry, Kato.\nA screeching cry shattered the\nair around me. I fell to my knees as Hale let me go. I opened my watery eyes\nand saw a smoldering fire take flight towards me. The air around us suddenly\nsnapped back to normal, and I felt like I was in reality once again. I turned\nmy attention towards stopping Hale's venom from destroying my body.Don't you dare! The bird screamed at me. I'm here! \nI smiled as my body fell slowly\nto the ground. I felt warm talons grip my body and pull me upwards. Hale stared\nup at me as Kato flew as high he could inside the building. He flapped his\nwings frantically and seemed to be trying to get out. He sent a flame towards\nthe giant windows, shattering them. \nI looked down to Reck, who was holding\nhis hands up and drawing energy in while Hale shouted to a guard. Kato then\ntried fly out, but was stopped by a field of energy that Reck placed around him.\nHe struggled and flapped against the energy bubble, but it trapped us. \nI looked back down just in time\nto see an arrow fly up and pierce through the energy field, barely missing\nKato's wing. Quickly, the guard reloaded his arrow, and I saw him dip it into a\ndead snake's mouth.Fuck! I can't get out! Kato shouted.Kato, let me go! \nKato dropped me, and I fell down\njust as the guard released a second arrow. I jumped in front of it and let it\npierce my body, shielding Kato. The arrow racked my body with pain, and my concentration\nbroke. Hale's venom began shooting pain through my body once again.\nKato screeched again. No, Decipher!Don't argue, we don't have time! It'll do more damage to you...I said\nas I staggered forward, gripping the arrow in my torso and breathing heavily. Do you have enough energy to take out Reck?\nI'll try.\nWe both looked down to see Hale\nand Reck both concentrating. Reck looked like he was completely distracted with\nthe energy force field, and Hale had moved on to trying to perform a ritual. He\nwas drawing a symbol in blood on the floor and chanting something. Hurry, Kato! Hale is trying to preform whatever ritual he needs to\nsacrifice you... \nKato stood still in the energy bubble and\nbegan to focus on Reck while I kept an eye on the guard that was firing arrows\nat us, who was loading another arrow. He wasn't wearing a helmet, and when I\nfocused on his face, I saw that it was Caliber.\nMy heart snagged in my chest\nwith the realization. No...Caliber please.\nI begged. Please, hit me.\nI saw him nod, and suddenly,\nanother arrow penetrated my arm. I fell forward against the clear energy field,\nblood oozing from my mouth and nose at this point. Hale's venom was deep in my\nsystem now, and I wasn't going to be able to stay conscious much longer. I'm sorry. I heard Caliber's voice whisper as another arrow hit the\nsame arm. \nI laid against the energy field,\nand suddenly realized the arrows were sticking out of it, creating a tear in\nthe field. K..ato. I whined. Look...Hit\nReck, escape through here. I can't... I became too weak to even think, and\nthe pain consumed me as yet another arrow struck my arm. But with each arrow,\nthe field was weakened as well. It seemed like Caliber was somehow using the\narrows as a way to help, but he still had to hit me. \nSuddenly, Kato let out an\nechoing shriek that sent a blast of energy down to Reck. Reck was knocked\nbackwards, but the energy bubble remained intact still. He stared up at us as\nthe bubble flickered, seeming to lose some energy. \nKato gripped me in his talons,\nand crashed through where the arrows were. The force field shattered, and we\nwere set free. I watched as Caliber solemnly loaded another arrow, but Hale stood\nand shouted something at him, making him lower his bow. Did Hale set us free? I wondered as Kato flapped his wings and I\nbegan to pass out. The last thing I saw was Hale wiping away the blood symbol\non the floor. \nMy body was assaulted by cold,\nicy wind. I heard Kato whistling and shrieking as he flew. Was he hurt? I\ndidn't know...I was losing touch with what was happening.\nThe air outside was dark now, or\nmaybe I was just unable to see. My body was beginning to grow numb from the\nintense pain that burned throughout it. Icy air stung my wounds, and my body\nwas too weak to even shiver in defense from the cold.Almost there... Kato's voice sang. Please...\nThe next thing I was aware of\nwas crashing into a mound of snow. I whined as the arrows stabbed farther into\nmy arm. My body fell to the ground as Kato crashed down next to me. I was\nunable to move as I saw Kato shrieking in pain and flapping his wing madly.\nHe reached his talons towards\nme, and I felt the familiar warmth enter my body. He ripped the arrows from my\nbody and began to heal me.Kato no... I begged him. Please,\njust save yourself.One of us has to live... I heard his voice whisper. Then I noticed\nthe arrow sticking out of his wing...He had been poisoned, after all.I won't live without you. I mumbled.\nThe massive bird fell next to me, wrapping\naround my body and warming me to the soul. I whined as the pain began to die\ndown. I was suddenly so much more alert.\nWhen I looked around, I realized\nwhere we were. We sat atop the peak of one of the Skyfall Mountains. The top of\nthe mountain was hazy and dark, but was becoming illuminated by the pale, blue\nmoon that rose in the sky. I swallowed hard as the warmth began to fade. I\nlooked at Kato, who was beginning to glow.\nHis body began to transform, and\nhe sank back into his human form. I reached out and ripped the arrow from his\narm. He lay silent in the snow beside me.\n\"Kato!\" I screamed, stripping\noff my torn jacket. I wrapped him in the jacket and took him in my arms,\nshielding him from the snow and wind. Blood was leaking from the side of his\nmouth, and his body was dead weight.\nWhen I looked at his face, I saw\nhe was smiling, and my heart felt stiff. I hugged his limp body against me,\nshivering as the snow sank into my fur. \nI looked up at the stars that\nsparkled alongside the few flakes of snow that drifted in the air around us.\nThe clouds were scarce, and the light of the moon beamed down upon us. I let\nmyself soak in its energy, and sent Kato all the warmth I had.\nWe sat in silence. I sent Kato\nall my remaining warmth, until my body was shivering violently and felt numb.\nHe still felt cold in my arms.\n\"Please.\" I whispered.\n\"Please...someone. Help me.\"\nI stared up at the moon as my\neyes leaked liquid...I suppose I was crying, or maybe it was blood, I wasn't\nsure. The pale moon began to change as red light collided with it. I watched as\nwe were bathed in violet light.Decipher. I heard Fleur's voice fluttering in my head. He's like me. We are strong in this light.\nUse my warmth...and light him on fire. \nI suddenly realized what Fleur\nwas saying...Kato was a phoenix, and he had the potential to be reborn. He was dead...but\nI could bring him back with fire, if he wanted to come back.\nI remembered the book I had\nread, and prayed that Kato would find his way back to me as I began sending him\nthe warmth Fleur's energy placed in my body. That's it...use all of it. Her voice chimed. Goodbye, friend. Thank you\nfor all that you've done.\nI felt her presence leave me\nentirely as I sent her to Kato, who had begun to glow with a faint orange aura.\n\nThe violet light seemed to sap\nthe energy right out of me, and suddenly I felt extremely weak. I gasped for\nair as Kato's body consumed my warmth. I willingly gave it up to him, but\nsuddenly felt myself falling out of this world. My mind felt light and hazy, as\nif I were no longer a part of my body.Kato... I whispered. Please\ncome back to me.Decipher? Where are you?I'm here, Kato! Please just hold on to me! I reached my energy out\ntowards him.Wait. I've been here before. I don't want to go back to that place...No Kato, it's okay! Come back! I begged him. Had he died before?\nHad Hale forced him to be reborn, and then live another life of torture? I\nwhined. Kato, you escaped. You're with\nme. Please come back. I can't live without you. I'm here for you...please come\nback for me.You promise you'll be there?\nI promise.\nI gasped as his energy rushed\ntowards me and gripped onto mine. The pain was overwhelming. I felt like I was\nbeing choked by ashes. I coughed violently and tasted fresh blood until I began\nto lose consciousness again. \nKato's body burst into flames. A\npure light blinded me, and suddenly I felt like I was floating in a sea of\nwhite, disconnected from reality.\nKato was lying next to me and\nstaring into my eyes with a smile. His bright face was illuminated by the\nblinding light, and his eyes golden flickered with fire. His face burst into a\ngrin, and suddenly the image changed. He was holding my hand and walking with\nme in the valley below the lookout point. He was laughing and holding onto me tightly,\nand there was no fear or pain. Was this a dream?\nSuddenly, Kato let go of my hand\nand transformed into the phoenix. Quickly, he snatched me up and swung me onto\nhis back. He took flight, ascending farther than the clouds. The moment was\npure joy.\nI was thrust back into reality\nas a cold wind slammed into me. Kato's body was engulfed in flames, but the\nfire only took my warmth. My body fought the cold, but I was losing the battle.\nKato's fire was growing, and I felt his energy becoming stronger with it. I\nshivered as his warm energy began to pull back into his body.\n\"I love you too, Kato.\" I\nwheezed, willing the thought to him. I don't even know if I actually said the\nwords, but I tried. I might not deserve\nhim, but he deserved to know. I guess the only reason I said it was because I\nthought I was dying...dying suddenly felt so liberating.\nAs my body grew weak, I began to\nfeel warm. Goodbye, friend. I\nwhispered with a smile. I closed my eyes and let the warmth carry me into the\ndarkness of sleep.\n The\nnext thing I was aware of was a blinding white light penetrating my eyelids.\nFor a moment, I feared I had returned to the lab, but I quickly realized I was\nstill lying in the cold snow. Voices echoed around me, and I saw a few blurry,\ndark figures moving towards me.I'm alive? My mind struggled with the thought.\nI was holding something between\nmy arms...a small, feathered figure. Kato was nestled into my chest as a small\nphoenix. He felt warm and peaceful as he rested. I suddenly doubted I was\nalive.\nThe figures approached me, and I\nfelt one of them touch my face and brush some snow from it. I whined and\ntightened my grip on Kato.It's okay. I heard his voice whisper. They're here to help.\nThe dark-skinned beings spoke to\nme in a language that I did not understand, and I slowly released Kato. I found\nmy hand stretching out towards him as they lifted him away from me, and I began\nto shiver. Soon, I felt my own body being lifted and taken somewhere. I closed\nmy eyes and fell away from reality once again.\n When\nI woke, I was lying in some kind bed, being warmed by firelight. My eyes\nfocused hopefully on the flames, but Kato wasn't there. I stirred in the\ncomfortable bed I was laying in. With a groan, I tried to look around, but my\nbody was still weak and my eyes had a hard time focusing. I glanced around at\nthe strange hut I was in, watching the flames dance in the small fireplace.\nMy attention turned to a flap of\nfabric that made up the door on the side of the hut, where someone was entering\nthe room. My heart thumped heavily at the sight of Kato as he entered. I found\nmyself grinning as I tried to sit up. I struggled to move, and my body felt\ncompletely drained of all its energy.\n\"Decipher!\" Kato said, rushing\nto my side with a tray of steaming soup. \"Hey, take it easy.\" He whispered as\nhe placed another pillow behind my head and helped me sit up.\n\"Are we dead?\" I asked with a grin.\nEverything felt too happy to be okay, but I didn't find myself caring...At least\nKato was here. \n\"No!\" He laughed. \"The dark\nelves that live in the channels of the mountains found us. That's where we are\nnow. They've offered us shelter. They said you have been marked by the Goddess,\nand that she sent them to you.\"\nI didn't know what that meant,\nbut I nodded and continued to smile as Kato placed the tray of food down and\nhanded me a spoonful of soup. I still wasn't sure I believed it, but it didn't\nmatter to me right now. I looked down at his wrist, and saw that his black mark\nhad burn scars streaked through it and was faded. \n\"You're still a human.\" I said,\nsuddenly worried. \n\"It's just easier to interact\nwith you as a human. You're kind of humanoid, yourself.\" Kato laughed again,\nplacing his hand on mine. \nAs I became more alert, I\nsuddenly began to remember what had happened. A small bit of fear slowly\nreturned, and I tried to discreetly pull away from his hand. I was tempted to\ngrip onto him tightly, but I was afraid of hurting him. \nMy face must not have hid my\nfear, because Kato let out a sigh and looked guilty. I wanted to assure him\nthat I was only worried for him, but I didn't have the energy to do so. I\ndecided a subject change would be better. \n\"So what are we going to do?\" I\nasked, looking around the small hut. \n\"What do you want to do?\" He asked. \nI looked back at him and tilted\nmy head. I wasn't sure how to answer him. I had finally made it to Skyfall...now\nI suppose I should look for the answers. I wasn't even sure what answers I was\nseeking anymore.\nKato was watching me with a\nhopeful expression. \"Well, you don't have to figure it out now.\" He said.\n\"Here, eat some soup. Just focus on regaining your strength.\"\nI ate the soup with Kato's help,\npondering what our future would hold. I had told Kato that I loved him, but\nhonestly I didn't feel ready to admit that to myself...I had only said it because\nI thought I was going to die. I didn't deserve Kato, and I didn't want to hurt\nhim. The shadow I fought was right...I didn't understand love, and maybe I did\nfeel like I didn't deserve it. My life had been full of violence and pain\nconcerning \"love.\" I suddenly felt guilty. What would he expect from me? I\ncouldn't give him what he wanted...\nI sighed and avoided Kato's\neyes. He set the empty bowl down and stared down at me. Asodar's voice echoed\nthrough my mind.If you\nlook, you will see.\nCarefully, I let my eyes wander\nto Kato's. All I was seeing was Kato...all I wanted to see was Kato. I wasn't\nready to love, and I didn't understand it...but I realized something.\nHe\ndidn't expect anything from me. All he wanted to do was be there for me, and he\nwould never hurt me. I didn't deserve someone as amazing as Kato, but I wasn't\ngoing to take him for granted. Maybe I did deserve to learn. I wanted to at\nleast grant Kato the chance to try and teach me. We were free. I couldn't let\nmy fear of myself take away from that.\nSkyfall holds every answer you have ever sought.\nI smiled. It didn't matter what I thought I\nwas looking for. Perhaps someday I would find the answers of Skyfall. But in this moment, I was looking at Kato, and\nthis moment was all that mattered.\n\"You know...Now that I'm not\ndrugged anymore, I can do this!\" Kato said as his body began to glow. My eyes\nsqueezed shut at the blinding light, and when it faded, I saw a small bird\nperched on the chair.I'm much more manageable at this size. His voice chirped in my head\nas he flapped his fiery wings. I can keep\nyou warm this way. You could put me in your pocket! \nI reached my hand out and let\nhim perch on me, grinning as his warmth. \"I don't think the pocket is\nnecessary.\" I said. What if I get scared and you have to hide me from some snakes? The tiny\nphoenix needs his big wolf to protect him!\nI laughed, watching the small\nphoenix hop up and down in feigned panic. He was barely larger than the\nphoenix-shaped flame we used to send back and forth to each other, and he was\npretty cute. I sighed and watched as Kato flew around the hut, enjoying his\nsmall, nimble form.\n\"Suddenly the great phoenix\nneeds protection?\" I teased. \"When\nyou're not drugged you have a tiny form, also? Seems a little\ncounterproductive.\" Well...It might also be because I'm too weak to transform into my actual\nphoenix form. But once I'm recovered, I'll have the option to change my size,\nyeah! \nI smiled and nodded, closing my\neyes and imagining him flying through Skyfall. As soon as we were better, I was\ngoing to make him take me flying...and we would search for the answers of the mountains\ntogether.\nI opened one eye as I felt\nKato's warm talons perch on my nose. His small, orange eyes peered down at me\nas he chirped inquisitively. I grinned. \nMaybe I already knew what the\nanswer was.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/611016-skyfall-chapter-27.json"}