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Description

A Small Temple off the Coast of Greece
Around Midday

                The room was lit with a row of red lamps and decorated with ribbons of pink, silk curtains strewn across the walls and floor. In the middle of it sat Aphrodite, legs crossed, hands folded, eyes closed, amidst the dim light and silence, she meditated, and she waited. It was Halcyon who entered the temple, breaking her reprieve as he politely approached.

“Is it done?” she asked.

“As you commanded,” Halcyon bowed down before her, “Our three greatest suspects have been informed of Mitsuka’s location.”

“Good,” she stood up, walking towards the exit, “Call everyone to a meeting, with any luck we’ll have this leak plugged before the night is through.”

                Aphrodite stopped at the entrance to the temple and looked back, curiously, to see Halcyon had not followed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not comfortable with what we are doing here m’lady.”

“…this again,” she sighed.

“We are offering a champion up to them on a silver platter.”

“Such is the nature of bait.”

“But we…”

“ALL ARE IN DANGER!” she snapped, cutting him off, “If we are lucky, then we lose only one more and cut a cancerous sore from our hides in the exchange, or we do nothing, and we lose them all.”

                She looked into Halcyon’s eyes as he flinched away from her harsh words and realized she had pushed back a bit too hard. Relaxing, she approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you trust me?” Aphrodite wondered, her voice soft and quiet.

“Forever,” Halcyon responded, tightly gripping her wrist as the look on his face became stronger, more determined, “And always.”

“Be you ever my guiding star,” she smiled upon him and kissed his forehead, “But do not lead me astray, for this is something I must do.”

“As you will,” he bowed before her again without hesitation, “My Lord, my Lady.”

                The pair disappeared, evaporating into showers of golden sparks and smoke, they went their separate ways.

The Maki Temple
The Northern Forests
That Night

                Mitsuka finished scrubbing out her clothes and sat within the hot spring, letting the boiling water soothe her aching muscles as she pondered out her lesson’s from the day before. Apparently she could summon and control sea water, which was interesting to say the least, but she still didn’t know how to ‘integrate’ it, or even activate it on command. In a moment of desperation, she raised her hands above the surface of the water and tried to conjure up a blast. For a time she just focused and got no results, then lashed out in frustration, slapping the water and, to her surprise, very nearly emptied the entire pool with a single stroke of her arm.

“How in the Hell…?” she looked around in astonishment at what she had done, it wasn’t a blast like she had been planning, but it was something.

                Keeping an eye on the river trickling in from the edges and the hot spring below the ground, Mitsuka tried again. Try as she might, she couldn’t control the stream as it continued to burble in, but she could split it. Once again, losing her temper, she punched the wall of the pool and saw the water come rushing back out in a geyser of boiling hot liquid that sent her running for her towel. With the cloth wrapped around her body, she looked back at the slowly filling pool and continued to wonder in confusion.

                Try as she might, Mitsuka couldn’t shape the water, or force it to move, at least, not gently or in distinct ways, but when she acted suddenly, she could make it burst.

“What did he say?” she mused out loud, “She did not rise without cause, she did not move without reason, for, when she did, she brought the tidal wave.”

                Drawing her hands back, Mitsuka thrust her arms forward and summoned another geyser from the pool. She did this again and again, but it was all she could manage, an explosion of water with no control or direction.

“Well…that’s something,” Mitsuka tried to console herself, sitting on the bank of the hot spring and continuing to think her situation over.

“I heard it was bad manners to splash the bath water,” Vhen called out, approaching from the forest.

“Gah!” Mitsuka jumped to her feet in surprise and the hot spring burst again in response to her movements, showering her with more scalding hot water, “Ugh, how do I turn this off again?”

“So this is what you’ve been doing all day?” Vhen chuckled.

“Come to make fun of me?” Mitsuka glared back.

“Maybe later,” Vhen shrugged, then turned her head about, listening to the spring water patter against the ground as it dripped back towards the ground, “This is actually impressive, I mean, you’re doing it backwards, but…”

“There it is,” Mitsuka rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious,” Vhen told her with as much sincerity as she could muster, “When you’re learning to control elements, well, the first thing you learn is…control, but to get this strong a reaction in just a day, it’s…astounding.”

“Oh yeah,” Mitsuka grumbled, “I can destroy bathtubs at will now.”

“Well, better than nothing, right?” Vhen tried to be comforting then sighed, “This is really bothering you isn’t it?”

“Go away,” she snapped.

“Ah…dammit,” Vhen turned away, scratching her head , but she didn’t leave, “Do I actually have to help you?”

                Mitsuka groaned in irritation and did her best to ignore the other woman.

“Maybe I should wake up December…” Vhen mused, still keeping her back to Mitsuka.

“Oh My God, would you just…”

“Okay, stand up.”

“What are you…” Mitsuka turned about to see Vhen standing next to her shoulder, “How the Hell…”

“Just,” Vhen reached down and pulled her up by the arm, “Just get up and give me your hands, alright?”

                The moment Mitsuka’s feet touched the ground she pulled away and spun about at Vhen, half intending to punch her in the jaw, but the Goddess simply stood there, hands held out and waiting patiently. With a sigh, Mitsuka conceded and slapped her hands against Vhen’s.

“Good, now which is your dominant hand?”

“Ugh…do we really have to…”

“Just answer the damn question.”

“Left, okay, I’m left handed.”

“Great,” Vhen clapped both of her hands down over Mitsuka’s right, “Now try to curl your pinkie, and do it without folding your other fingers.”

“Why?” Mitsuka leered back at her.

“Oh, I can answer that,” a man’s voice, with a faint gargle in his throat, called out to them.

                The two women turned to face him as he approached, a skeletal man covered in black sludge and dressed in a policeman’s uniform.

“Plague,” Mitsuka identified him.

“Friend of yours?” Vhen wondered, then sniffed the air and gagged, “Yuck, puss and gangrene.”

“Oh, you’re too kind.”

                Wasting no words, Mitsuka slapped the bracelet on her arm and summoned her mask, squaring off against Plague as he simply laughed at her and took a seat upon a nearby rock.

“Careful,” he warned, “You’re going to lose your towel.”

“You’re not going to fight?” Vhen wondered.

“Why would I?”

                The moments these words left his lips, a tornado twisted across the space between them, striking him in the chest and shattering his body like a paper doll. His limbs scattered turning into limpid puddles and piles of bones.

“Man has a point,” Vhen sighed before pinching her nose, “We got some oil or incense or something? That smell’s really getting to me.”

“Well Fuck you too you Insensitive BITCH!” Plague’s skull yelled from the ground, a severed arm crawling towards him and grabbing his fallen head, “And here I was, trying to be all atmospheric, God, no appreciation for theater.”

“So, do we have any oil or what?” Vhen wondered, completely unmoved.

“You’re going to be screaming in a minute you snooty little…”

“He’s already planted them,” Mitsuka surmised, “That’s his thing, he throws down these stupid eggs.”

“EYE!” Plague shouted, “Fuchsia Eyed Fuji, and they will come for…”

“They turn into monsters,” Mitsuka continued on and went for her clothes, quickly getting dressed, “They’re dangerous, we need to find them and fast.”

“And what about him?” Vhen asked, still cautiously staring at Plague’s remains.

                Mitsuka sighed as she pulled her shirt over her head, considering the problem when she finally noticed the, now, half empty hotspring and the large rock Plague had been sitting on.

“I think I’ve got an idea,” Mitsuka smiled.

The Central Forest

                December sat in the dirt with his feet planted firmly as he stared down Sunny.

“You will move,” the Inugami warned him and December growled in response, “Then I move you.”

“Wait,” Flit slid around in front of him, blocking the fight before it begin.

“Out my way,” Sunny commanded.

“Well, him pretty lady’s cub,” Flit argued, “Maybe we not piss her off.”

                Sunny shoved him, but Flit refused to budge.

“You Traitor,” Sunny accused him.

“No,” Flit shrugged, “Mitzi not in danger, and his mom cute, have nice voice, so you not push, we be friends.”

                Sunny was snarling now, teeth bared as he loomed over his little brother, but the tension dissipated, vanished in a second when a voice called out, the tiniest, faintest whisper, begging them for help. December turned towards it, uncertain if he had heard whom he thought it was, yet there was no time to ponder when Sunny leapt over him, disappearing into the trees.

“You…heard that, didn’t you?” December had to ask.

“Heard…Yoshi?”

“Who?” December wondered, then shook his head, “No, no, it was a girl’s voice.”

“No girl,” Flit insisted, “Was boy, you not hear it?”

“Help Me!” the voice called out once again, louder this time, and there was no mistaking it.

“Cindy?” December whispered, stepping closer to the tree line.

“No, Yoshi,” Flit insisted, anxiously circling about in the air, “Was Yoshi, who…who Cindy.”

“It’s not,” December stopped for a second, finally understanding and running off into the wood, a low growl in his throat, “You bastard.”

“What I do?” Flit wondered, following along just the same.

                December followed Sunny’s trail and quickly found him hunched over in a clearing, shuddering and whimpering. The coyote scoffed at him and started searching the area.

“Where are they?” December growled hatefully but got no response.

“Brother?” Flit asked as he cautiously approached.

“Get away!” Sunny yelled, turning to face his brother and showing a disgusting pink growth that was slowly eating away his throat, “GO!”

                Flit froze in place, terrified and shocked beyond reason while Sunny slowly stalked towards him, his legs moving with painful jerking motions. December pounced on Sunny’s back but was quickly thrown free, tumbling over the grass while, with visible difficulty, Sunny started backing away.

“Stop!” he yelled, blood leaking over his teeth as the parasite dug in deeper, “Not touch! Run! Get Away!”

“No,” Flit tearfully insisted.

“Listen to him,” December snapped as he took a defensive stance, “Get out of here and warn the others.”

“But…”

“I’ll keep him here, and I’ll try not to hurt him, Now Go Get Help!”

                Flit whimpered, but did as he was told, vanishing amongst the tree branches while Sunny continued to twist and jerk about spastically.

“Was a mistake,” Sunny grumbled, the parasite turning him back around to face December.

“I think I can hold you until he brings reinforcements,” the coyote stated firmly.

“No…” Sunny groaned as his eyes started to glaze over, “I fight…so not hurt him, but, I not fight for you…”

                The last vestiges of Sunny’s personality dissipated with a weary sigh and the Inugami snarled at December, baring his teeth, practically rabid. He lunged at December, his upper body growing massive as it leapt the distance between them. December dodged, rolling out of the way and creating a wall of ice to protect himself, but Sunny just snapped through it like it wasn’t there. Keeping on the defensive, he circled and dived about the clearing trying to avoid Sunny’s attacks without doing any serious damage himself. He made walls, pillars and sheets of ice over the grass to trip up his opponent, he was trying to buy time.

                Then, Sunny’s body swelled almost large enough to fill the clearing and actually knocking over a few trees as he grew. The Inugami howled in his mad blood craze before starting to thrash about, apparently trying to stomp December out of existence who continued to dodge until he couldn’t any more, tripping on his own ice and rolling helplessly across the dirt. With no options left, December summoned an ice spike to block Sunny’s flailing paws. It worked, partially, stabbing through Sunny’s paw, but the Inugami barely seemed to notice, though it couldn’t free the appendage, Sunny kept bashing his free leg against the spike until it shattered. The quick struggle took only seconds, but bought December the chance he needed to get clear of the scuffle, briefly fading back into the forest.

                Sunny charged blindly after, but his bulk turned into an impediment, the trees and branches snagging at his flesh like a bramble thicket until he went tumbling face first into the dirt. The parasite on his neck wriggled and pulsed in an almost angry fashion, and Sunny shrank back down to normal size to continue the chase. No sooner was he back to normal size, when December came from the shadows, tackling him down and pinning him. Sunny continued to snap and growl, and, when he exposed his throat, December bit down hard on the parasite. A cold wind blasted through the forest, leaving a sheen of ice on every tree within twenty yards, and December harshly jerked his head to the side, snapping the, now frozen and dead, parasite off of Sunny’s throat and spitting it onto the ground.

                While the Inugami writhed in agony, December backed away, shaking in a way that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Oh God…” December breathed as he collapsed to the ground, “Oh thank God that worked.”

“You idiot…” Sunny grunted, his voice a raspy whisper, “Told you to run.”

“You’re welcome,” December snapped.

“No,” Sunny coughed, but still tried to raise his voice, “There…more than one.”

“What?!” December looked about in a panic, quickly forcing himself to recover.

                He saw nothing, but, in the eerie quiet of the forest, he could hear them.

The Northern Forest

                Vhen stepped back, kicking the last bit of Plague’s shattered body into the mostly empty hot spring and Mitsuka lifted the rock into the air before slamming it back down, shoving it into the pool like a cork into a bottle.

“Nice,” Vhen mentioned as she dusted a few stray Plague flecks from her hands, “Think it’ll hold him.”

“Better than letting him run around,” Mitsuka shrugged, “Now, come on, we…”

“Help me…” a voice called out to them, a voice that was, to both, oddly familiar.

“Dad?” Mitsuka started forward without thinking only to be blocked by Vhen.

“Who did you hear?”

“What are you…”

“Help Me!” the voice shouted more urgently and Mitsuka jerked towards it again, though Vhen held her firmly and remained unmoved.

“That’s not him,” the Goddess insisted, and started to pull her back when they both heard an odd crunching of gravel.

                They both turned and before them was a small tentacled creature, resembling a lopsided wad of gum more so than anything else and a single pink eye glowing near its center.

“Help Me!” it squeaked in a voice that sent a chill down Mitsuka’s spine.

“Two more to our left,” Vhen mentioned, “How big are we talking?”

“Kinda like a puddle…” Mitsuka cringed, “It’s crawling towards us.”

                Vhen considered it for a moment, then glanced towards the rock keeping Plague caged.

“Grab my arm and don’t let go,” she advised and almost instantly created a gust of wind that sent them both flying into the air.

                They landed hard next to the river that fed the hot spring as the wind quickly dissipated. Mitsuka recovered and scanned her surroundings, trying to come up with a plan only to see Vhen shaking her head.

“It’s not that bad is it?”

                Vhen simply pointed, and Mitsuka could hear them, a veritable chorus of voice all shouting and snickering “Help Me!”

“How many?” Mitsuka wondered, a slight quaver working its way into her voice.

“Ten,” the Goddess cringed a bit, “Fifteen?”

                Looking around, Mitsuka could see them, sliding around in the shadows and swinging from the tree branches, slowly closing in. The idea of just punching the damn things, her aura might protect her, but the very idea of touching the things made her skin crawl and there was something strange about the way they were acting. They weren’t attacking, they were calling out to them, crawling towards them, and there had to be more to these creatures, Plague would not have been so arrogant in coming here if they weren’t dangerous. That, of course, begged the question, what were they supposed to do, how could they fight back.

                They could run away, perhaps, Vhen could certainly fly away, but, looking back at her, Mitsuka saw the same furrowed brow on Vhen’s face that she was certain was creasing her own. Fighting these things one on one was a fool’s errand, they would easily get swarmed by the rest. Then again, if they could just get all of the little monsters in one place, they might have a chance. Vhen could probably accomplish this goal, and destroy half of the forest in the process, then again, that would just throw them about, not kill them outright.

                Looking down towards the river, Mitsuka saw it rippling, her own frustration being reflected across its surface and it occurred to her, she could wash the monster out of the trees, if only she had the necessary control to do it without drowning them all.

“Together,” Mitsuka nodded towards Vhen, “If you can help me gather them up…”

“Then we can break them,” Vhen smirked and raised her arm, summoning a small whirlwind, “Are you ready?”

“Uh…” Mitsuka gritted her teeth and took a fighting stance, “Let’s find out.”

                She waved her arms and split the river, sending a small wave over its banks, much to her regret.

“They’re getting closer,” Vhen warned, increasing the spin of her tornado.

“I know, just…give me a second.”

                Mitsuka took a breath and moved again, paused for a second and then made a pulling motion that accelerated the flow of the river, then thrust her hand, lifting it out of the trench and feeding it into the whirlwind. Vhen smiled, sending her miniature typhoon all throughout the area and sweeping up every last one of the pink eyes. Midway through, Mitsuka lost control of the water flow, unable to keep up with the tornado’s movements, and collapsed.

“Sorry,” Mitsuka quickly apologized, suddenly out of breath, “I couldn’t…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vhen told her offhandedly, gathering up the last few of the monsters and then reversing the pull of her whirlwind and grinding the lot of them into the dirt.

                Their bodies splattered into viscera and pink slurry that splashed almost close enough to stain their shoes. Vhen smiled at the results and turned away to check on Mitsuka.

“How you feeling?”

“Been better,” she gasped, “That was…actually kinda cool.”

“Right,” Vhen chuckled, “With a little bit of practice you could…”

                Vhen was interrupted by crazed laughter coming from the forest, fairy lights igniting in the darkness and slowly drawing closer.

“How many?” Mitsuka asked with a weary voice.

“A lot,” Vhen grumbled, “They’re either here to free their boss or they’re just swarming us, either way we need to get moving.”

“Right,” Mitsuka backed away, already prepared to run, “We can head up the river, get…”

                She slid to a stop as something came slamming down in front of her, falling in front of her like a castle gate, blocking her path. It stood there, hacking, coughing, gagging, laughing, all four paws scratching bloody trails across the dirt while the disgusting pink blob on his neck wriggled and pulsated.

“…found…you…” Flit whispered to her, his words raspy and strained.

Description

A Small Temple off the Coast of Greece
Around Midday

                The room was lit with a row of red lamps and decorated with ribbons of pink, silk curtains strewn across the walls and floor. In the middle of it sat Aphrodite, legs crossed, hands folded, eyes closed, amidst the dim light and silence, she meditated, and she waited. It was Halcyon who entered the temple, breaking her reprieve as he politely approached.

“Is it done?” she asked.

“As you commanded,” Halcyon bowed down before her, “Our three greatest suspects have been informed of Mitsuka’s location.”

“Good,” she stood up, walking towards the exit, “Call everyone to a meeting, with any luck we’ll have this leak plugged before the night is through.”

                Aphrodite stopped at the entrance to the temple and looked back, curiously, to see Halcyon had not followed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not comfortable with what we are doing here m’lady.”

“…this again,” she sighed.

“We are offering a champion up to them on a silver platter.”

“Such is the nature of bait.”

“But we…”

“ALL ARE IN DANGER!” she snapped, cutting him off, “If we are lucky, then we lose only one more and cut a cancerous sore from our hides in the exchange, or we do nothing, and we lose them all.”

                She looked into Halcyon’s eyes as he flinched away from her harsh words and realized she had pushed back a bit too hard. Relaxing, she approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you trust me?” Aphrodite wondered, her voice soft and quiet.

“Forever,” Halcyon responded, tightly gripping her wrist as the look on his face became stronger, more determined, “And always.”

“Be you ever my guiding star,” she smiled upon him and kissed his forehead, “But do not lead me astray, for this is something I must do.”

“As you will,” he bowed before her again without hesitation, “My Lord, my Lady.”

                The pair disappeared, evaporating into showers of golden sparks and smoke, they went their separate ways.

The Maki Temple
The Northern Forests
That Night

                Mitsuka finished scrubbing out her clothes and sat within the hot spring, letting the boiling water soothe her aching muscles as she pondered out her lesson’s from the day before. Apparently she could summon and control sea water, which was interesting to say the least, but she still didn’t know how to ‘integrate’ it, or even activate it on command. In a moment of desperation, she raised her hands above the surface of the water and tried to conjure up a blast. For a time she just focused and got no results, then lashed out in frustration, slapping the water and, to her surprise, very nearly emptied the entire pool with a single stroke of her arm.

“How in the Hell…?” she looked around in astonishment at what she had done, it wasn’t a blast like she had been planning, but it was something.

                Keeping an eye on the river trickling in from the edges and the hot spring below the ground, Mitsuka tried again. Try as she might, she couldn’t control the stream as it continued to burble in, but she could split it. Once again, losing her temper, she punched the wall of the pool and saw the water come rushing back out in a geyser of boiling hot liquid that sent her running for her towel. With the cloth wrapped around her body, she looked back at the slowly filling pool and continued to wonder in confusion.

                Try as she might, Mitsuka couldn’t shape the water, or force it to move, at least, not gently or in distinct ways, but when she acted suddenly, she could make it burst.

“What did he say?” she mused out loud, “She did not rise without cause, she did not move without reason, for, when she did, she brought the tidal wave.”

                Drawing her hands back, Mitsuka thrust her arms forward and summoned another geyser from the pool. She did this again and again, but it was all she could manage, an explosion of water with no control or direction.

“Well…that’s something,” Mitsuka tried to console herself, sitting on the bank of the hot spring and continuing to think her situation over.

“I heard it was bad manners to splash the bath water,” Vhen called out, approaching from the forest.

“Gah!” Mitsuka jumped to her feet in surprise and the hot spring burst again in response to her movements, showering her with more scalding hot water, “Ugh, how do I turn this off again?”

“So this is what you’ve been doing all day?” Vhen chuckled.

“Come to make fun of me?” Mitsuka glared back.

“Maybe later,” Vhen shrugged, then turned her head about, listening to the spring water patter against the ground as it dripped back towards the ground, “This is actually impressive, I mean, you’re doing it backwards, but…”

“There it is,” Mitsuka rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious,” Vhen told her with as much sincerity as she could muster, “When you’re learning to control elements, well, the first thing you learn is…control, but to get this strong a reaction in just a day, it’s…astounding.”

“Oh yeah,” Mitsuka grumbled, “I can destroy bathtubs at will now.”

“Well, better than nothing, right?” Vhen tried to be comforting then sighed, “This is really bothering you isn’t it?”

“Go away,” she snapped.

“Ah…dammit,” Vhen turned away, scratching her head , but she didn’t leave, “Do I actually have to help you?”

                Mitsuka groaned in irritation and did her best to ignore the other woman.

“Maybe I should wake up December…” Vhen mused, still keeping her back to Mitsuka.

“Oh My God, would you just…”

“Okay, stand up.”

“What are you…” Mitsuka turned about to see Vhen standing next to her shoulder, “How the Hell…”

“Just,” Vhen reached down and pulled her up by the arm, “Just get up and give me your hands, alright?”

                The moment Mitsuka’s feet touched the ground she pulled away and spun about at Vhen, half intending to punch her in the jaw, but the Goddess simply stood there, hands held out and waiting patiently. With a sigh, Mitsuka conceded and slapped her hands against Vhen’s.

“Good, now which is your dominant hand?”

“Ugh…do we really have to…”

“Just answer the damn question.”

“Left, okay, I’m left handed.”

“Great,” Vhen clapped both of her hands down over Mitsuka’s right, “Now try to curl your pinkie, and do it without folding your other fingers.”

“Why?” Mitsuka leered back at her.

“Oh, I can answer that,” a man’s voice, with a faint gargle in his throat, called out to them.

                The two women turned to face him as he approached, a skeletal man covered in black sludge and dressed in a policeman’s uniform.

“Plague,” Mitsuka identified him.

“Friend of yours?” Vhen wondered, then sniffed the air and gagged, “Yuck, puss and gangrene.”

“Oh, you’re too kind.”

                Wasting no words, Mitsuka slapped the bracelet on her arm and summoned her mask, squaring off against Plague as he simply laughed at her and took a seat upon a nearby rock.

“Careful,” he warned, “You’re going to lose your towel.”

“You’re not going to fight?” Vhen wondered.

“Why would I?”

                The moments these words left his lips, a tornado twisted across the space between them, striking him in the chest and shattering his body like a paper doll. His limbs scattered turning into limpid puddles and piles of bones.

“Man has a point,” Vhen sighed before pinching her nose, “We got some oil or incense or something? That smell’s really getting to me.”

“Well Fuck you too you Insensitive BITCH!” Plague’s skull yelled from the ground, a severed arm crawling towards him and grabbing his fallen head, “And here I was, trying to be all atmospheric, God, no appreciation for theater.”

“So, do we have any oil or what?” Vhen wondered, completely unmoved.

“You’re going to be screaming in a minute you snooty little…”

“He’s already planted them,” Mitsuka surmised, “That’s his thing, he throws down these stupid eggs.”

“EYE!” Plague shouted, “Fuchsia Eyed Fuji, and they will come for…”

“They turn into monsters,” Mitsuka continued on and went for her clothes, quickly getting dressed, “They’re dangerous, we need to find them and fast.”

“And what about him?” Vhen asked, still cautiously staring at Plague’s remains.

                Mitsuka sighed as she pulled her shirt over her head, considering the problem when she finally noticed the, now, half empty hotspring and the large rock Plague had been sitting on.

“I think I’ve got an idea,” Mitsuka smiled.

The Central Forest

                December sat in the dirt with his feet planted firmly as he stared down Sunny.

“You will move,” the Inugami warned him and December growled in response, “Then I move you.”

“Wait,” Flit slid around in front of him, blocking the fight before it begin.

“Out my way,” Sunny commanded.

“Well, him pretty lady’s cub,” Flit argued, “Maybe we not piss her off.”

                Sunny shoved him, but Flit refused to budge.

“You Traitor,” Sunny accused him.

“No,” Flit shrugged, “Mitzi not in danger, and his mom cute, have nice voice, so you not push, we be friends.”

                Sunny was snarling now, teeth bared as he loomed over his little brother, but the tension dissipated, vanished in a second when a voice called out, the tiniest, faintest whisper, begging them for help. December turned towards it, uncertain if he had heard whom he thought it was, yet there was no time to ponder when Sunny leapt over him, disappearing into the trees.

“You…heard that, didn’t you?” December had to ask.

“Heard…Yoshi?”

“Who?” December wondered, then shook his head, “No, no, it was a girl’s voice.”

“No girl,” Flit insisted, “Was boy, you not hear it?”

“Help Me!” the voice called out once again, louder this time, and there was no mistaking it.

“Cindy?” December whispered, stepping closer to the tree line.

“No, Yoshi,” Flit insisted, anxiously circling about in the air, “Was Yoshi, who…who Cindy.”

“It’s not,” December stopped for a second, finally understanding and running off into the wood, a low growl in his throat, “You bastard.”

“What I do?” Flit wondered, following along just the same.

                December followed Sunny’s trail and quickly found him hunched over in a clearing, shuddering and whimpering. The coyote scoffed at him and started searching the area.

“Where are they?” December growled hatefully but got no response.

“Brother?” Flit asked as he cautiously approached.

“Get away!” Sunny yelled, turning to face his brother and showing a disgusting pink growth that was slowly eating away his throat, “GO!”

                Flit froze in place, terrified and shocked beyond reason while Sunny slowly stalked towards him, his legs moving with painful jerking motions. December pounced on Sunny’s back but was quickly thrown free, tumbling over the grass while, with visible difficulty, Sunny started backing away.

“Stop!” he yelled, blood leaking over his teeth as the parasite dug in deeper, “Not touch! Run! Get Away!”

“No,” Flit tearfully insisted.

“Listen to him,” December snapped as he took a defensive stance, “Get out of here and warn the others.”

“But…”

“I’ll keep him here, and I’ll try not to hurt him, Now Go Get Help!”

                Flit whimpered, but did as he was told, vanishing amongst the tree branches while Sunny continued to twist and jerk about spastically.

“Was a mistake,” Sunny grumbled, the parasite turning him back around to face December.

“I think I can hold you until he brings reinforcements,” the coyote stated firmly.

“No…” Sunny groaned as his eyes started to glaze over, “I fight…so not hurt him, but, I not fight for you…”

                The last vestiges of Sunny’s personality dissipated with a weary sigh and the Inugami snarled at December, baring his teeth, practically rabid. He lunged at December, his upper body growing massive as it leapt the distance between them. December dodged, rolling out of the way and creating a wall of ice to protect himself, but Sunny just snapped through it like it wasn’t there. Keeping on the defensive, he circled and dived about the clearing trying to avoid Sunny’s attacks without doing any serious damage himself. He made walls, pillars and sheets of ice over the grass to trip up his opponent, he was trying to buy time.

                Then, Sunny’s body swelled almost large enough to fill the clearing and actually knocking over a few trees as he grew. The Inugami howled in his mad blood craze before starting to thrash about, apparently trying to stomp December out of existence who continued to dodge until he couldn’t any more, tripping on his own ice and rolling helplessly across the dirt. With no options left, December summoned an ice spike to block Sunny’s flailing paws. It worked, partially, stabbing through Sunny’s paw, but the Inugami barely seemed to notice, though it couldn’t free the appendage, Sunny kept bashing his free leg against the spike until it shattered. The quick struggle took only seconds, but bought December the chance he needed to get clear of the scuffle, briefly fading back into the forest.

                Sunny charged blindly after, but his bulk turned into an impediment, the trees and branches snagging at his flesh like a bramble thicket until he went tumbling face first into the dirt. The parasite on his neck wriggled and pulsed in an almost angry fashion, and Sunny shrank back down to normal size to continue the chase. No sooner was he back to normal size, when December came from the shadows, tackling him down and pinning him. Sunny continued to snap and growl, and, when he exposed his throat, December bit down hard on the parasite. A cold wind blasted through the forest, leaving a sheen of ice on every tree within twenty yards, and December harshly jerked his head to the side, snapping the, now frozen and dead, parasite off of Sunny’s throat and spitting it onto the ground.

                While the Inugami writhed in agony, December backed away, shaking in a way that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Oh God…” December breathed as he collapsed to the ground, “Oh thank God that worked.”

“You idiot…” Sunny grunted, his voice a raspy whisper, “Told you to run.”

“You’re welcome,” December snapped.

“No,” Sunny coughed, but still tried to raise his voice, “There…more than one.”

“What?!” December looked about in a panic, quickly forcing himself to recover.

                He saw nothing, but, in the eerie quiet of the forest, he could hear them.

The Northern Forest

                Vhen stepped back, kicking the last bit of Plague’s shattered body into the mostly empty hot spring and Mitsuka lifted the rock into the air before slamming it back down, shoving it into the pool like a cork into a bottle.

“Nice,” Vhen mentioned as she dusted a few stray Plague flecks from her hands, “Think it’ll hold him.”

“Better than letting him run around,” Mitsuka shrugged, “Now, come on, we…”

“Help me…” a voice called out to them, a voice that was, to both, oddly familiar.

“Dad?” Mitsuka started forward without thinking only to be blocked by Vhen.

“Who did you hear?”

“What are you…”

“Help Me!” the voice shouted more urgently and Mitsuka jerked towards it again, though Vhen held her firmly and remained unmoved.

“That’s not him,” the Goddess insisted, and started to pull her back when they both heard an odd crunching of gravel.

                They both turned and before them was a small tentacled creature, resembling a lopsided wad of gum more so than anything else and a single pink eye glowing near its center.

“Help Me!” it squeaked in a voice that sent a chill down Mitsuka’s spine.

“Two more to our left,” Vhen mentioned, “How big are we talking?”

“Kinda like a puddle…” Mitsuka cringed, “It’s crawling towards us.”

                Vhen considered it for a moment, then glanced towards the rock keeping Plague caged.

“Grab my arm and don’t let go,” she advised and almost instantly created a gust of wind that sent them both flying into the air.

                They landed hard next to the river that fed the hot spring as the wind quickly dissipated. Mitsuka recovered and scanned her surroundings, trying to come up with a plan only to see Vhen shaking her head.

“It’s not that bad is it?”

                Vhen simply pointed, and Mitsuka could hear them, a veritable chorus of voice all shouting and snickering “Help Me!”

“How many?” Mitsuka wondered, a slight quaver working its way into her voice.

“Ten,” the Goddess cringed a bit, “Fifteen?”

                Looking around, Mitsuka could see them, sliding around in the shadows and swinging from the tree branches, slowly closing in. The idea of just punching the damn things, her aura might protect her, but the very idea of touching the things made her skin crawl and there was something strange about the way they were acting. They weren’t attacking, they were calling out to them, crawling towards them, and there had to be more to these creatures, Plague would not have been so arrogant in coming here if they weren’t dangerous. That, of course, begged the question, what were they supposed to do, how could they fight back.

                They could run away, perhaps, Vhen could certainly fly away, but, looking back at her, Mitsuka saw the same furrowed brow on Vhen’s face that she was certain was creasing her own. Fighting these things one on one was a fool’s errand, they would easily get swarmed by the rest. Then again, if they could just get all of the little monsters in one place, they might have a chance. Vhen could probably accomplish this goal, and destroy half of the forest in the process, then again, that would just throw them about, not kill them outright.

                Looking down towards the river, Mitsuka saw it rippling, her own frustration being reflected across its surface and it occurred to her, she could wash the monster out of the trees, if only she had the necessary control to do it without drowning them all.

“Together,” Mitsuka nodded towards Vhen, “If you can help me gather them up…”

“Then we can break them,” Vhen smirked and raised her arm, summoning a small whirlwind, “Are you ready?”

“Uh…” Mitsuka gritted her teeth and took a fighting stance, “Let’s find out.”

                She waved her arms and split the river, sending a small wave over its banks, much to her regret.

“They’re getting closer,” Vhen warned, increasing the spin of her tornado.

“I know, just…give me a second.”

                Mitsuka took a breath and moved again, paused for a second and then made a pulling motion that accelerated the flow of the river, then thrust her hand, lifting it out of the trench and feeding it into the whirlwind. Vhen smiled, sending her miniature typhoon all throughout the area and sweeping up every last one of the pink eyes. Midway through, Mitsuka lost control of the water flow, unable to keep up with the tornado’s movements, and collapsed.

“Sorry,” Mitsuka quickly apologized, suddenly out of breath, “I couldn’t…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Vhen told her offhandedly, gathering up the last few of the monsters and then reversing the pull of her whirlwind and grinding the lot of them into the dirt.

                Their bodies splattered into viscera and pink slurry that splashed almost close enough to stain their shoes. Vhen smiled at the results and turned away to check on Mitsuka.

“How you feeling?”

“Been better,” she gasped, “That was…actually kinda cool.”

“Right,” Vhen chuckled, “With a little bit of practice you could…”

                Vhen was interrupted by crazed laughter coming from the forest, fairy lights igniting in the darkness and slowly drawing closer.

“How many?” Mitsuka asked with a weary voice.

“A lot,” Vhen grumbled, “They’re either here to free their boss or they’re just swarming us, either way we need to get moving.”

“Right,” Mitsuka backed away, already prepared to run, “We can head up the river, get…”

                She slid to a stop as something came slamming down in front of her, falling in front of her like a castle gate, blocking her path. It stood there, hacking, coughing, gagging, laughing, all four paws scratching bloody trails across the dirt while the disgusting pink blob on his neck wriggled and pulsated.

“…found…you…” Flit whispered to her, his words raspy and strained.