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Hey there, dear readers, I'm back with the next chapter of The Fox's Path! Once again, I would like to thank my proofreader, Trismegistus Shandy! Now, please enjoy!

The crevasse was immense, and seemed to stretch onward to the distant horizon. Taylor looked out at the rocky landscape before her, amazed at the enormity of it all. There was a river winding through the canyon, the sound of the rapids below only faintly trickling into her perked ears. Lining the entirety of the walls of the canyon were crystals, ranging through the entire spectrum of colors, twinkling like stars. The sun was setting, glowing a vibrant orange as a few wispy pink clouds drifted lazily in the aqua sky. A cold breeze made the teenage vixen shiver, and she felt a leathery bat wing gently wrap itself around her. She blushed as she looked to her left at Jeremy, the bat's face turning red beneath his brown fur.

"Y-You looked a little cold," he said timidly.

"I am... th-thanks," Taylor said, surprised to find that she didn't actually mind, though still feeling a bit awkward. Jeremy's wing, which was draped over both of her shoulders and extended all the way to the back of her knees, felt soft and warm, despite how leathery it was.

"This one is called Journey of the Soul," Jeremy explained as he led Taylor out of the light sculpture. He quickly removed his wing and tucked it back under his other one as they stepped back in the museum hall. "It was crafted by Maginasse, back in the 300's; the exact date is still debated. He was inspired by his pilgrimage, which took him through the Alhongru Canyon."

"It's beautiful... and it makes me want to go and see the real thing," Taylor said, enjoying their not-date.

"It really is," Jeremy said with a dreamy smile as he looked at Taylor.

Okay... maybe this is a little more than just a... not-date, Taylor thought, unsure of how she was supposed to feel. Jeremy led Taylor down the hall, growing more excited for a very special exhibit that he had been wanting to show her. As they walked, Taylor stopped as a painting of a shadow on the wall caught her eye. It was pitch black and humanoid...but with a bushy tail. She guessed that it stood at around seven feet tall, depicting a lanky, almost sickeningly skinny figure. She was starting to feel unnerved by it, as it seemed to move a little bit closer to her each time she looked away.

"T-Taylor?" Jeremy's voice drew her attention away from the creepy art piece.

"Sorry, Jeremy, I wasn't paying attention; I got distracted by that weird painting," she said, turning to gesture at the shadow figure, which was now standing even closer.

"Huh, I don't remember there being anything new put here," Jeremy said as he looked at the painting.

"Well, since it moves when you don't look at it, maybe whatever spell helped to make it compelled it to come here?" Taylor offered, her sense of unease growing.

"Wait... what do you mean it moves when you don't look at it?" Jeremy asked, sounding alarmed as he turned to look at Taylor.

"W-Well, every time I looked away, it got closer," Taylor said, turning to look back at it... only to find that it was no longer where she and Jeremy had been looking at it.

"Taylor, we gotta go!" Jeremy said. Taylor felt him taker her left paw in his own and tug her back.

"Jeremy, what's wrong? Also, you're hurting my paw," she said as the grip tightened.

"No, Taylor, I think we just saw a Voider and... I'm not holding your paw..." Jeremy said from the vixen's right.

Taylor looked to her right at Jeremy, whose eyes met her own before looking up and going wide. Taylor slowly turned to her left and, standing there, was the shadow figure. It was a two-dimensional pitch black figure that loomed silently over the vixen, clutching her paw in it's own. Taylor let out a shriek and tried to pull her arm away, feeling Jeremy grab her by the waist to help her try to get away. Her paw started to go numb as an icy chill crept up her arm. Taylor's movements began to grow sluggish and her vision tunneled. She vaguely recognized Jeremy's voice frantically calling out for help, but another voice was drowning it out.

Soon. The voice that Taylor knew came from the shadow creature was gravely and raspy, yet full of malevolence.

Soon... I... shall... return... it said. Without warning, deep in the vixen's chest, she felt a sudden and intense heat. She felt, more than saw, white flames flow through her veins, emanating from her heart, and spreading out through her body. The cold numbness retreated from her left arm and paw, and the being let out a horrid and baleful screech as the white flames started to eat at its two-dimensional paw. Everything went dark for the briefest of seconds, and when the light returned, the Voider was gone. Taylor felt her legs give out from under her and she collapsed into a pair of strong arms. The fur on them was snow white with black spots. She looked up into the face of Duncan as he carried her through the hall, Jeremy looking over his shoulder. The snow leopard seemed just as worried as the bat. He was saying something to her, but the vixen heard none of it. Everything went dark as Taylor slipped from consciousness.

Taylor slowly awoke, becoming aware that she was lying in a hospital bed. Her mind was foggy, but she heard a familiar deep and rumbling voice.

"--one could have expected a Voider attack, especially in the middle of the day, Jeremy. None of this could possibly be your fault," Abe's voice carried over to Taylor. She turned to see the massive bear, now in light blue scrubs, standing near her bed, talking to Jeremy and Duncan. Jeremy looked completely disheveled while Duncan, who was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, seemed much more collected, although still very worried.

"ABE!" Taylor heard Laura's voice call out. She turned her head towards the doorway just in time to see the frantic she-wolf come through the door. Duncan noticed the movement and practically leapt to Taylor's bedside.

"You're awake," he said, looking unsure of what to say.

"I am," Taylor said back, trying to smile, "thanks."

The snow leopard was about to respond before Laura hurried over to Taylor and hugged her close.

"Oh, sweetie," Laura said, fretting.

"H-Hey m-mom," Taylor said, trying to sit up but feeling a little dizzy as she did so.

"No, honey," Abe said as he approached the bed, "you need to lie still, and let the gem do its work."

"Huh?" Taylor wondered, looking at the bedside table where Abe was gesturing, spying a hovering red oval gem, the size of Taylor's thumb, slowly rotating.

"The fri gem will help you recover faster, but you need to keep the physical activities to a bare minimum for a while, an hour, two at the most." Abe rested an immense paw on his adopted daughter's shoulder, smiling encouragingly down at her.

"Okay," Taylor said, looking up at the worried, yet relieved, faces surrounding her, just before two more joined them.

"TAYLOR!!!" Lily cried after Laura ended her hug, the younger she-wolf throwing her own arms around Taylor, the fur around her eyes tear-stained.

"Hey, Lily," Taylor said as she was squeezed gently.

"We got the call about the attack," Shaun explained while Lily sniffled and clung close to Taylor, "and came as soon as we could."

"I'm so sorry, Taylor!" Everyone turned to see Jeremy, who was wringing his paws nervously.

"Why are you sorry, Jeremy?" Taylor asked, confused.

"Because it was my idea to go to the museum... and if I hadn't--"

"Stop right there," Taylor said, surprising herself a little but continuing on. "Don't you dare go and blame yourself for this."

"But--" Jeremy started before being cut off again.

"No, Jeremy, this was not your fault," Taylor said. Jeremy didn't look entirely convinced, but nodded to her. Taylor watched as Duncan, who had moved aside to make way for Laura and Lily, put an arm around Jeremy's shoulder.

"She's right," Duncan said, standing a good foot taller than the nervous bat. "Besides, if you hadn't called for help and tried to pry her away from the Voider... well... I'd hate to think about what would have happened."

Taylor frowned at the word "Voider".

That's what Ben said he thought I might be when he first met me and... scanned me, Taylor thought, shuddering at the memory of the sensation of what Laura had called the True Gaze. Taylor was brought back to the present by Laura cupping her muzzle.

"It's okay, sweetie," she said while leaning down close to nuzzle her adopted daughter, "you're safe."

The vixen's tail, which had been tucked under the white hospital blanket, wriggled out and began to thump as her eyes started to mist. Memories of her past life briefly surfaced. Her former mother had never been anywhere near as affectionate as Laura was.

Granted, Taylor surmised, it's not like humans go around rubbing their faces on their loved ones.

She felt warmth in her chest as she was nuzzled; the gem floating on the bedside table started to shine with a maroon light. She caught Abe's chuckle and him saying something about something was helping her, before she drifted back down again into unconsciousness. Her sleep was a fitful one, with images of two-dimensional shadow figures reaching out for her from all sides, intermixing with memories of her former life. Bad memories. The type of memories that the mind tries to blot out and forget. Taylor let out a whimper as she awoke again, this time finding Lily in the bed with her, cuddling her close.

"Hey," Lily said in a light voice, "have a bad dream?"

Taylor saw, just over Lily's shoulder, that the sun had set. She looked back into her wolf sister's eyes, and nodded, feeling a little sheepish.

"Wanna talk about it?" Lily asked, still hugging Taylor close. Taylor shook her head, feeling her tail tuck itself between her legs.

"Okay," Lily said. They laid there in comfortable silence for a while before Lily spoke again.

"Molly and Uncle Ben showed up while you were asleep," she explained to Taylor, who nodded for her to continue.

"Jeremy and Duncan both had to go back to their homes, but they both wished that they could have stayed," Lily summarized. Once again, Taylor nodded, this time with a blush on her face. Lily giggled but otherwise said nothing about it, and instead continued.

"Mom, Dad, Shaun, and Molly are all talking to Uncle Ben and some guy he called over on his way here. Apparently there's something important that he has to tell them... and not me," Lily said, letting out a little huff of annoyance. Taylor felt a little nervous at that, thinking that Ben might have called the rest of the family away to tell them something terrible about her. Lily saw how anxious Taylor was becoming and rolled her eyes.

"He assured all of us that it was nothing bad," Lily said, "just that it was important and that, since you needed to rest and be cuddled, I should stay behind and do just that."

Taylor felt some of her anxiety lessen, and even let out a giggle.

"You can't expect me to believe that he told you to climb in bed and cuddle me," Taylor said.

"Well, Dad was the one who said it. According to him, it's the best thing to help someone who's been attacked by a Voider," Lily explained, tightening her grip a little. Taylor frowned once again at that word.

"Hey, Lily?" Taylor queried.

"Yeah?" Lily answered.

"If that... shadow thing was a Voider... then why did Ben think that I could be one when he first met me?" Taylor asked, confused.

"Oh, well, that's because of how Voiders work," Lily said, letting go of Taylor so that they could both sit up while she explained.

"You see," Lily started, "a Voider is a being that comes into existence on another plane altogether. It forms from a sort of magical void, hence where they get their names from." Taylor nodded to show that she was following along, prompting Lily to continue.

"So, somehow, they end up here on our world from time to time. And, usually, they're actually very disoriented and benign. But, sometimes, one will lash out in its confusion at anything, usually something sentient. When that happens, they sorta infect a person's aura with their essence of that magical void, or whatever it's supposed to be called, which gives them the ability to slowly enter that person," Lily said.

"So, it's like a possession?" Taylor asked.

"You mean like a demonic possession?" Lily asked, and Taylor nodded. Lily giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Tay-Tay, that's just in the movies," Lily said. "Real demons are actually terrified of anything remotely magical," Lily said to the shocked-looking vixen.

"Something wrong?" Lily asked, now worried that she may have hurt Taylor's feelings.

"No... uh... l-let's table the demon discussion for now and get back to the Voiders, okay?" Taylor asked.

"Oookaay," Lily said with a shrug, "anyway, when they enter a person, they kinda change their appearance based on... a bunch of different factors, and basically, the first person that this new entity meets suddenly remembers a bunch of false memories about said individual. No one really knows why this is, the the Voider just goes with it, feeding off the energy of those around it."

"But why did Ben think that I was one?" Taylor asked, feeling disturbed that something like that had touched her.

"Well, he had heard about the monster attacks, and he'd even heard rumors of a Voider being spotted, not yet inside anyone, lurking just outside the front gates of out neighborhood. So, when he saw you enter, with with a bunch of stuff for you that mom had told him about, after explaining Shaun finding you and all that, well... he kinda jumped to some conclusions," Lily said.

"... So," Taylor began after a moment of processing this new piece of information, "what happens to the person that the Voider enters?"

"Well... if the Voider is stopped early enough, nothing permanent. Since they were touched by the essence of the magical void, they tend to experience deep feelings of depression, and even thoughts of suicide. However, that's actually very easily remedied. Especially with showing that person affection from someone who cares for them," Lily said, pulling Taylor into another hug.

Taylor's face heated up again, but her tail also started to thump against the bed, just like Lily's.

"You really aren't used to this much affection, are you?" Lily asked, making Taylor look away, ashamed.

"N-Not really..." Taylor admitted.

"Those damn Leschts," Lily practically snarled. Taylor turned to look at her in surprise, before taking in a deep breath.

"Okay, Lily," Taylor started, getting her sister's attention.

"Yes?" Lily asked.

"The Lescht thing has gone on long enough," Taylor said.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, now looking very confused.

"Lily," Taylor sighed, not sure how she was going to break this to her, or how Lily might react, but deciding to continue onwards anyways, "I was never raised in one of those Lescht compounds. In fact, I had never heard of them until you mentioned them."

"Wait... what?" Lily asked, looking bewildered. "But, you said that you grew up and went to school where no one taught any magic! The Leschts are the only ones who do that!"

"Maybe here... but... where I come from... there is no magic... or, if there is, we haven't discovered it yet... or maybe we did, but forgot how to use it a long time ago," Taylor added.

"Tay-Tay..." Lily trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Lily," Taylor said, taking Lily's paws in her own and looking her directly in the eyes, "I came here from a different world, in what I'm pretty sure is a different universe. I got sucked in through a reality tear."

"..." Lily sat there, looking at Taylor for a while in silence. "O-Oh... wow!" she said, surprise evident on her face.

"That's not all," Taylor said, deciding to tell her sister the whole truth.

"It's not?" Lily asked.

"No... see... when I got sucked in, I switched species... and... gender... I... used to be a guy..." Taylor said, bracing herself for the worst.

"Huh..." Lily said, surprising Taylor, "so that's why you didn't want to wear dresses or skirts..." Lily said, before practically tackling Taylor in yet another hug, making Taylor let out a girly squeak.

"Don't worry, Tay-Tay," Lily exclaimed, "you're still my baby sister, no matter what!"

And there you have it, dear readers! I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!