D-Rock wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 5:41 pm
That fan up there? It’s been hit,
hard.
At least we finally have a name for Suicune.
Funny enough the name was thought up on the fly mostly cause I got tired of referring to Ryujuro as "The Vigilante". Luckily for me I found a space to squeeze in mention of his cover name.
Amazee Dayzee wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:30 pm
I like reading this chapter though I am pretty sure Fox won't die. I mean we nearly lynched Sean for killing Fox off in his fanfic so I doubt it will happen again.
So Ryujuro can control fire and water then. What about the other elements?
Oh yeah, I read past that part already and I was basically like
Granted Fox wasn't playing a significant role in the story so I guess I can see why he offed him but still I kinda thought there'd be a bit more to it to really twist the knife in the wound to really sell Mungo's anger in the coming chapters... kinda like what I did here... that's funny.
I am in no way saying I did it better, I just expected it to be different thought about it, and then moved on to do my own thing.
There are a couple of really cool video on youtube from one youtube channel named "Overly Sarcastic Productions" that talks about this concept of character death and how by playing that card you're essentially giving up their potential relationships with other characters to fuel one character's growth, highly recommend it cause its informative and also cause Red's just really fun to listen to. (
Trope Talk: Fridging &
Trope Talk: Character Deaths
Man after watching those videos again and looking back at what I've written I now realized I fridged Askal's mom and siblings... whoops.
hmmm maybe I can fix that somewhere... or not I dunno.
Welsh Halfwit wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 1:15 am
Back in 1986, Hasbro had two films based on their properties coming out. Transformers:- The Movie and GI. Joe. With the idea of clearing the way for their next lines of toys in each franchise, several characters died. In BOTH films the heroic lead dies. Transformers came out first and the Fan backlash against Optimus Prime's death meant they changed Duke's death in GI Joe to him being put into a coma.
Oh, I remember this controversy I only saw the transformer's side but I heard about the GI. Joe one a few years down the line. I will admit I was sad when Optimus died but I was confused when they brought him back. Like okay but why though? yeah yeah to sell more toys but from a story perspective, it's a bit cheap and probably led to the status quo of Optimus dying and coming back in almost every iteration he's in... Spoilers:
except for prime he kinda stays dead with that one but it's at the end so fair...
Amazee Dayzee wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:04 pm
Not trying to harshly persuade anyone as it was a joke on my part. Trust me if I wanted to persuade Krytus to add anything in the story it wouldn't be advocating killing off Fox.
I'm a bit adamant in how I form these stories and it's a bit hard to get me to change course unless it's minor things, but even then I'm gonna do something to put a spin on it. here's one that I couldn't squeeze into the story organically and am currently unsure of where to put it.
Originally I didn't plan for Zeke and Rowan to have a love life. They're kinda swamped with a lot of things but the more I looked at it their personalities the more I realized they needed a bit of rounding out so I came up with the compromise that Rowan's basically like a Male Sasha girls randomly ask him out and because he's the social type he readily agrees if he isn't already booked for the night. The funny thing is because of their condition Zeke is just forced to come along as a third wheel and has to juggle staying far enough to not look like a stalker and being close enough to Rowan so that their conditions don't act up.
So rather than my internet going on the fritz again, this time the explanation as to why this is slightly earlier than expected is because A massive chunk of this chapter was lobbed off from the previous one. I've also been rewriting this chapter in my head for months now. So after a bit of on-the-fly tweaks to put things right, there wasn't much I had to do in the way of rewrites. Usually, I'd read it and go "hmm that's not right." but since I've been doing that for months now this was pretty straightforward.
(Notice: This is now a rewritten version. For transparency's sake I've included a google doc of the previous version just in case you're curious about the previous version and want to compare the changes. For the chapter written on the forum, the new changes are written in Red, if you're looking at the google doc the replaced parts are in blue. If you scroll down you can find a TL;DR version of the changes I've made to this chapter. Here you go.)
Episode 04: Those Who Have Forgotten The Past
Chapter 05
Mungo could only hear the sound of ringing in his ears.
His hands shook, his legs quivered, and his vision blurred. The world seemed to have lost all meaning as the color of everything around him seemed to fade. All the fatigue his body had accrued from fighting with Suicune seemed to fade away. Except there was only one place that continued to hurt and became more pronounced as everything else seemed to fade into the background—his chest.
Oddly enough, it was the area in his golden armor that sustained the least damage from Suicune's barrage. He still felt his heart beat as usual, but it hurt. It hurt like nothing Mungo had ever felt before. Usually, most blows to any part of his body felt like lovetaps, but not this time. Instead, Mungo felt a tightness in his chest that slowly began to feel like he was being suffocated.
"Second shock!" Zeke announced panic, coating his voice, "CLEAR!" A cackle of electricity sounded. "It's not working!"
Fox was dying, and Mungo wasn't there to stop it from happening. He blamed himself. Mungo saw Fox rushing off to apprehend Fido alone and thought nothing of it. He hated how wrong he was; if only he were there. If only he were a few minutes faster. Fox wouldn't be bleeding out in the middle of a burning festival.
"I think I have to do something crazy," Rowan's voice sounded grim. "and I need you to back me up."
"Whatever you need, bro, I'm with you all the way." Zeke tried to sound brave but couldn't mask the quiver in his voice.
“Pull out a fire crystal and follow my lead to the letter.”
Mungo was on autopilot as he put one foot in front of the other. The large dog didn't even feel his body move to block the incoming slash at his throat with a golden shield he materialized. Suicune... Mungo locked eyes with the striped dog, who dared to have a furious look in his eyes. If anybody should be furious, it should be him, not some vigilante who mercilessly struck down a dog in the line of duty.
Clenching his fist Mungo tilted his shield to allow Suicune's blade to slide off and stagger his opponent. As Suicune tried to process his next move, Mungo quickly pulled back his punch before twisting his entire body forward to put more force into his blow. Even though Mungo's fist had already connected with Suicune's stomach, Mungo continued to push, sending the striped murderer flying and into the last remaining metal post standing. Suicune hit the post with a clang and fell to the ground coughing up not nearly enough red to match Fox's.
As the dog tried to recover, Mungo slowly approached, dismissing his shield and cracking his knuckles. Due to Mungo's slow pace, Suicune had enough time to pick himself back up and readjust his stance. Suicune stood his ground and pulled his sword back before thrusting it forward into several quick jabs. However, rather than call up another shield or jump out of the way, Mungo simply walked through the onslaught.
The large dog didn't even quicken his pace. Instead, he just took blow after blow, only relying on the durability of his armor to keep him safe. Sure some jabs managed to chip some of the pieces off, but those were nowhere near any vital areas, so Mungo saw no need to do anything but walk forward. Eventually, Mungo got close enough to grab Suicune by the neck, causing the dog to halt any of his attacks.
"Why?" Mungo snarled, keeping his grip tight but loose enough for the dog to talk. "Why did you kill my partner?"
Suicune coughed but still answered. "I did what I did to protect my~ Mungo squeezed to cut him off.
"Don't you dare try to paint your actions in a good light!" Mungo bellowed in rage. "Fox was only doing his duty! That dog was only trying to do his best, yet you cut him down! I felt the pain you put him through and how hard he suffered."
With unwavering determination in his eyes, Suicune fought back against Mungo's grip. "I… Will… Protect…
"YOU WILL DO NOTHING BUT ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS!"
Mungo tossed Suicune into the air and pulled his fist back to ready a fierce blow. Once the dog came back down due to gravity's pull, Mungo launched his fist as hard as he could, connecting with Suicune's stomach yet again. As a result, the striped dog was launched a fair distance away and crashed through a nearby tent.
Not enough, not nearly enough. Mungo wasn't done with Suicune, not yet. However, before he could pursue the striped dog, he needed to ensure the bindings he placed on Fido would hold. Both of them played a part in getting Fox to the state he was in, and Mungo would see to it that both would face justice. Once Mungo was sure his cage was secure, he marched angrily to the tent he had sent Suicune through. Fido struck the bars of his cell with the restraints on his arms. He tried to yell through the muzzle, but Mungo ignored him. He had no interest in what Fido had to say.
When Mungo arrived at the tent, he followed the trajectory of where Suicune should have landed, but the dog wasn't there. So Mungo took note of the ground and sniffed the air. Unfortunately, due to how close he was to the fire, all he got was smoke in his nose, and the ground was too muddled with frantic footsteps to get a good idea of where Suicune had gone.
However, the moment Mungo left the tent to search for more tracks, Mungo's ears perked to the sound of creaking wood. When Mungo turned around, he finally noticed that the three of the four posts holding up the tent had been cut clean through. Reacting fast, Mungo held out his hands to create supports around the posts to keep them from giving way until he was in the clear. The first two posts were no trouble, but when Mungo got to the third one, he noticed how weak the glow was compared to his usual standard. It even began to crack under the weight of the tent it had to support.
Mungo kicked off the ground and let his magic do the work to fly through the air back to where he had left Fido, narrowly avoiding the tent's collapse. Once his golden cage came back into view, Mungo found Suicune hard at work, hacking away at the golden material imprisoning Fido. Rather than create a new weapon and waste what little remained of his light reserves, Mungo decided to go bare-handed. It didn't matter how good Suicune's sense of smell was; the smoke should cover him, and because he was flying, Suicune couldn't even hear him approach.
Once Mungo was satisfied with his height, the large dog directed his magic to pull his body into free fall. Mungo pulled his fist back and readied himself to make contact with Suicune, but as he approached, Mungo noticed Suicune tense up at his descent. Since he had already committed to his strike, Mungo found it hard to turn around and continued with his attack. However, a split second before Mungo could make contact, Suicune kicked himself off of Mungo's cage and sent himself flying back, narrowly avoiding the attack. Then, with no one to hit, Mungo crashed to the ground, destroying what was left of the stage.
As Mungo picked himself up from his failed attack, he noticed Suicune a reasonable distance away, breathing in and out as he focused. Within seconds, Suicune pulled his sword back, causing water to form around his blade; this time, the water took the shape of a dragon. Ready to put an end to the fight, Suicune pushed off the ground and charged recklessly toward Mungo.
Hoping to throw Suicune off, Mungo created pillars of light with the remains of his reserves, but the striped dog was cutting through it all by twisting his entire body to put more force into his slash. Mungo could tell Suicune was betting everything on his last attack. They had been fighting for a decent amount of time; for most of it, Suicune had been running around. The dog had to have a limit somewhere, and Mungo guessed this was it. So, all Mungo had to do was survive, and Suicune would be useless.
Mungo gathered everything he could spare. He undid his armor and used it with the rest of his reserves to construct a dome to protect himself. With Suicune’s superior mobility, Mungo couldn’t risk the possibility of the striped dog flanking him and hitting him from behind. The dome Mungo built wasn’t as thick as Mungo would’ve liked, but it would have to do.
Once Mungo’s dome had finished forming, Suicune instantly clashed with its golden light. Mungo’s barrier held for the moment, but as the water-shaped dragon tried to force Suicune’s sword through, Mungo noticed cracks starting to form all along his barrier. Mungo strained himself to keep his construct from falling apart, but Suicune kept pushing, eventually making Mungo fall to one knee from the effort.
Eventually, the two had finally reached a standstill. Neither Mungo’s dome nor Suicune’s barrier was budging from the force the two dogs clashed against each other. However, when Mungo breathed a sigh of relief, the cracks in his barrier began to deepen. Before Mungo knew it, the entirety of his barrier fell apart under the immense pressure leaving Mungo defenseless.
Mungo watched in horror as Suicune’s blade slowly approached his neck. He wasn’t fast enough to create any defenses to protect himself, and even if he was, Mungo had no more light to work with to make those defenses. Suicune was going to cut him down. He was done for.
Before Suicune's blade could make contact with anything, Mungo heard the familiar sound of a fired gun. Unfortunately, due to the situation he was in, Mungo found it impossible to track from where the bullet was fired but what he could tell was that Suicune was the intended target. Suicune covered up the entirety of the hole in Mungo's barrier. There was no angle from which the bullet could've come to hit Mungo.
Thankfully due to the force of the bullet hitting Suicune, the trajectory and power of his sword swing were thrown off. So instead of landing a devastating blow to Mungo's neck, the sword blade lightly grazed Mungo's shoulder, cutting a few fibers but not enough to deal lasting damage beyond a scar the size of his palm.
As Suicune landed on the ground with an unceremonial thud, Mungo put his senses to work to find out where the gunner had come from. Unfortunately, due to exerting himself in his fight with Suicune, Mungo's senses had dulled. The pain and exhaustion made it hard for Mungo to fully grasp the situation around him. Of course, Mungo wanted to know who went out of their way to rescue him, but that would have to wait. Capturing Suicune before he could escape was his top priority now. So, reaching into his collar for his cuffs, Mungo cautiously approached the downed Suicune.
The closer Mungo got to Suicune, the more he noticed the dog's eyes. It flickered weakly between the fiery red Mungo knew and an eerily familiar silver. At first, it eluded Mungo where he would've remembered seeing those eyes, but it only took a few seconds before it dawned on Mungo. As Fido’s words from before the fight began echoed in his mind, Mungo felt the familiar strain of his mana running out.
"A-Askal?" Mungo gasped as he reeled back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Fido had no time to feel relieved when Mungo's constructs disappeared.
When it came down, he rushed over to Ryujuro's side with tears streaming down his face. There was no doubt about it; he heard a gunshot, and Ryujuro falling over was all the confirmation Fido needed to know where the bullet had ended up. Fido rushed with all his strength to be by Ryujuro's side. There was still a chance the shot had ended up somewhere superficial; that had to be it.
"Askal," Fido dropped to his knees and ignored Mungo as he stood frozen, "stay with me, buddy, you're gonna be alright."
Fido didn't have to look long to notice the left side of Ryujuro's neck was shot through. Panic began to set in as he gripped the area tight—the carotid artery. From what Fido remembered, it was a major blood vessel of the body and was usually the target for quick murders. If the wound was shallow, simply gripping the area tight to stem the blood should be sufficient to keep the patient alive. Unfortunately, the red spilling through Fido's hands told him it wasn't shallow.
"Darn it!" Fido growled, trying to keep it all in, "Askal, listen to me. Stay with me whatever you do, do not fall asleep. Just focus on me, okay?"
"Kuya Fido," Askal smiled softly, their eyes still constantly shifting between red and silver, "you're okay."
"Zenichi Nii-San," Ryujuro smiled softly, their eyes still constantly shifting between red and silver, "you're okay."
A fresh batch of tears began to fall, "Please don't talk. Save your strength. You'll get better, I promise."
"It's alright," Askal and Ryujuro spoke, their voices overlayed on top of each other "What matters to me is that you're safe. That's all I can ever ask for."
"No, you can't go. Please, don't go." Fido sobbed.
"I was tired of sitting on the sidelines, watching you get hurt for me. Now… it's… my turn… to… protect~
Fido watched in horror as the shifting colors in their eyes dulled significantly before they slowly closed. “NO!” Fido shook Ryujuro’s body, “Please come back!”
Fido pressed his ear against Ryujuro’s chest and found their heartbeat slowing down to a crawl. They were alive but barely. Frantically Fido reached for his phone and began dialing. At this point; it didn’t matter if Ryujuro was a wanted criminal. Fido just wanted Askal to live, he didn’t care if Askal ended up in a prison cell, that can be an issue for another time. Unfortunately, because of how panicked he was and because of all the red on his hands, the phone’s touch screen was virtually useless.
“Darn it!” Fido cursed allowed, nearly throwing the device in frustration. “Just make a phone call!”
"Fido," Mungo finally spoke up,
Unfortunately, all that did was make Fido angry, "SHUT UP!" Fido yelled, still fixated on the phone,
“If you had listened to me in the first place Askal wouldn’t be in this situation.”
"You can lecture me all you want but that won’t change the fact that the paramedics won’t arrive on time."
"So what? Am I just supposed to let him die?"
"That's not what I'm saying!"
"Then what are you saying, Mungo!? You didn't listen to me when I tried to beg you to stop!
You didn’t even give me a chance to explain beyond five measly seconds! So either do something useful or get out of my way!"
"Zeke and Rowan," Mungo sighed solemnly, causing Fido to stop fiddling with his phone, "those two are capable of healing; if we find them, Askal might still have a chance."
Fido almost slapped himself for not remembering those two, but he had no time to lose and needed to move quickly. First, he tried to get Ryujuro to let go of his sword and sheath, but the dog seemed to have an iron grip on the weapon even as he lay dying. After the first attempt, Fido decided against getting him to let go; he didn't have time to waster and slung one arm over his shoulder.
Fido began his long trek towards where he last saw the two brothers, but because Ryujuro was heavier than he looked, Fido began to lose balance almost immediately. Before Fido could topple over, the police dog felt the weight he was carrying suddenly lessen until it was entirely gone. Mungo had taken Ryujuro into his arms, moving him with little to no effort even though Mungo had been in a grueling battle a brief moment ago.
"Before you yell at me, your choices are this, or you carry him slowly." Mungo sighed as he placed the striped dog on the floor. Mungo then took off his collar and a handkerchief before securing the two to Ryujuro’s neck.
At first, Fido wanted to retort, but due to the circumstances, he had nothing. After everything he had witnessed, it felt wrong to let Mungo handle Askal's life, but he didn't have much of a choice and pressed onward. Askal had to survive; he had to. But unfortunately, when Mungo and Fido reached the entrance where Zeke and Rowan were treating Fox, the trio was nowhere to be found. In their place was a wooden peg pinned to the ground holding one of Rowan's strings with a note attached.
"Needed space to treat Sir Fox, follow string if injured. IMPORTANT: avoid decaying plant life at all costs.
-Z&R"
Fox and Mungo shared an uneasy look before pressing on to follow the string. Due to their situation, both dogs were in a sprint, following the trail Rowan had left behind. Given the string's blue coloring, it was easy to see through the grass, but it didn't glow like usual, which led Fido to believe it's been cut. However, Fido could see the string was pulled taut, so it was at least secured to something.
So far, following the string had led them in a straight line towards the forest of Babylon Gardens. Thankfully the play area was distanced well enough that the fires couldn't jump into the woods. It also helped that the wind blew in the opposite direction. So Fido didn't have to worry about the forest on fire. What bothered the police dog was Rowan's warning of decaying plants. Fido shook his head; he didn't have time to waste worrying about cryptic messages.
"Rowan!" Fido called out, hoping to speed up the process, "Askal's been injured! We need medical attention!"
"Rowan!" Mungo called out as well, "Please, it's serious!"
While it had only been a few minutes since they started following Rowan's trail, the police dogs found no end to the string that led through the woods. It caused Fido to wonder how much space they needed to treat Fox's injuries. Sure there was the possibility of the fire worsening, but after they had passed the tree line, they should have been safe enough to continue treatment.
"Call... Kitsune..." Fido stopped in his tracks when he heard Zeke's voice followed by the dial of a phone on loudspeaker,
At first, it caused relief to well up from Fido, but something was odd about Zeke's voice and how he encountered it. Rowan's string continued deeper into the woods, yet Zeke was far from his brother. Ever since he had met those two dogs, they had been inseparable. If Zeke were around, Rowan would be nearby; that was just a fact between those two brothers. Additionally, Zeke's voice sounded strange. It was deeper than Fido was used to, and it sounded like he was holding back a snarl.
"Heyo," came Kitsune's voice, but sadly Fido could quickly tell it came through a phone speaker, "You've reached Kitsune; let's continue this conversation in person, shall we?" Then, nothing, there was no swirl of air or puff of smoke that signified the fox’s arrival.
"Darn it... Kitsune..." Zeke snarled, "Please... Help... us... Can't... hold... on... much... longer..."
"Zeke," Mungo called out, "Is that you?"
"Is Rowan there?" Fido followed up hastily.
Fido heard the creaking of ropes being pulled taut, "No... Keep... going... further... ahead... almost... there..."
"Do you need help?" Mungo sounded concerned, "We can
"NO!" Zeke roared, causing both dogs to reel back, "Don't... want... to... be... seen... not... like... this..."
Mungo looked like he was going to speak, but the sound of creaking wood caused him to hold his breath. From above them came a tree branch that fell unceremoniously to the floor. A glance showed that it had lost all of the healthy colors it should've had for autumn and was slowly starting to decay. Now that their attention had been called to it, Fido noticed a portion of the greenery was slowly beginning to die out in the direction of Zeke's voice. Rowan's warning suddenly made less sense; why would he tell Fido and Mungo to avoid his brother at all costs?
A weak cough followed by a wheeze from Ryujuro caused Fido to snap out of his stupor. He didn't have time to worry about anything else. Askal was on the verge of dying.
"Zeke, are you sure?" Mungo took a few tentative steps before being pushed by Fido.
"No time to worry about that now," Fido rushed, "We'll come back once we drop Askal off with Rowan."
Just like Zeke had mentioned, it only took a short jog before the two dogs reached a breach in the treeline and found themselves in a clearing filled with white flowers. Despite being in the middle of autumn, the flowers looked like they had just bloomed and weren't bothered by the inappropriate temperature in the slightest.
While the sight was beautiful, Fido didn't have the time to take it in; he had to find Rowan. So Fido scanned the field, following Rowan's trail until he saw a healthy tree standing tall at the very edge of the garden. Sitting at the base of its trunk were Rowan and Fox, who looked to be fast asleep as they leaned on the tree and relied on its shade.
Overjoyed at the sight, Fido gestured to the pair and dragged Mungo along with him. However, as the two drew closer, a horrified look found its way onto Fido's face. Rowan had a cut in the same area Fox had and an x-shaped incision in his chest. The white dog sprouted thicker versions of his threads from both of these wounds. So much so that instead of looking like string or yarn, it looked like hemp rope. These ropes then connected to Fox's initial injury and a new one on the right side of Fox's chest.
Rowan looked terrible as he gasped desperately for air, almost like an asthma attack. The white dog's face was riddled with pain as his hands clenched the tree's roots for some kind of relief. Now, Rowan had an ECG bracelet too that projected the monitor right next to Fox's. While Fox's was weak, it still beat at the same pace as Rowan's. Fido could at least breathe some relief knowing Fox would make it; he still couldn't process what he saw.
"He's..." Mungo's voice shook, "He's using himself as Fox's life support."
Fido's eyes widened, "That means..."
"He can't do anything else." Mungo finished as he gently lowered Ryujuro to the floor. "I'll... give you two... some space...
This was it; he had no other options. Due to how weak he had gotten, Ryujuro's grip was loose enough to let go of the sword to make way for Fido's hand to hold. The dog's breathing was shallow, and Mungo's collar was soaked with red. He felt Ryujuro's pulse get slowly weaker and weaker. It was almost time.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Askal." He sobbed, the tears slowly cascading from his face. "I'm so... sorry."
'I'm the luckiest dog in the world.' Fido paused when he heard Askal and only Askal's voice in his head, 'To have not one, but two loving and caring Kuyas.'
Fido could only wrap his arms around Ryujuro, hoping his touch reached Askal hidden within. The police dog couldn't hold back the tears and wept openly as he cradled Ryujuro's body. He wasn't ready to say goodbye to someone he held so dear to his heart, and his grip tightened. It was a foolish hope that if he held the dog tighter, then Askal could stay for a little longer. Sadly, Fido knew how the world worked and could only dread the coming of his final breath.
As Fido cradled Ryujuro's body waiting for the end, he felt a strange warmth grow from the dog. He thought he had been dreaming when he felt it, but as the heat continued to build, Fido pulled back. He wouldn't be able to handle it if it was some hallucination, so Fido studied Ryujuro's body carefully. At first, he found nothing, but he noticed a ripple spread across Ryujuro's body before he could give up.
More ripples continued to travel across the surface of Ryujuro's body, almost like he was made of water. Eventually, with so many waves Fido couldn't see Ryujuro's body. Then, slowly but surely, the ripples began to die, and in Ryujuro's place was Askal. Fido rubbed his eyes to ensure he was seeing Askal, and when his vision cleared, it was still Askal. He had returned to normal except for Ryujuro's stripes on Askal's fur coat, but Fido didn't care.
He undid Mungo's collar and still found the wound, but it was now shallower than it used to be. Fido redid Mungo's collar and embraced Askal with tears of joy in his eyes. Askal was going to live.
Before Fido could fully celebrate, however, he noticed a strange glow start to build on Ryujuro's sword. Next, a greenish emblem in the shape of a bull's head appeared as energy crackled around it. Then, faster than Fido could react, a small explosion erupted. Not enough to destroy the sheath of Ryujuro's sword but enough to leave singe marks.
Suddenly a gale began to pick up, scattering the white flowers surrounding the five dogs. From the burst of wind came forth Kitsune, who looked at the scene before him with terror and confusion. He cast his glance at Fox and Rowan, still intertwined at the base of the tree, and then to Fido, who still cradled Askal with a new striped pattern on his fur.
"I've been played." Kitsune snarled through grit teeth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm impressed. I was honestly not sure if he'd pull the trigger or not."
"I've been studying these pets for a long time now. I told you this one would be a good fit for you."
"While he is promising, I need to continue my surveillance, I want to see more of him."
"Better hurry your window is closing fast. If you don't make up your mind soon it'll be another year before you can get in contact with him again."
"In any case, your intel has proven useful. You have my thanks, Taurus."
End of Episode 04