FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Ok you all know the legel stuff (I am not connected to Bandai in any way) ok since

that's done here's the next part of a shifters tale enjoy!!!!!

Chapter Fifty (woohoo)

When i came to the first thing i noticed was that my body felt like someone had put me in a blender and hit liquify, despite that i tried to move my body only to find that something was holding me down.

I lifted my head and looked at my body to find that i was tied to a bed with heavy chains, *What the hell?* i thought *How did i get here and why am i chained to a bed?* I lay my head back down and tried to remember what has happened but the only thing i could remember was that it was something bad.

I tried to think of what it could be but as much as i tried the only thing that came to mind was *Serinity*, i tried to summon some of my power but when i reached for it i couldn't bring it out for some reason.

"What the!?, What the hell is going on?" i said.

I struggled against the chain trying to summon my powers to cut them but i still couldn't reach it, Quickly i looked around the dark shack and found why; sitting at several places around the shack were large boxes not unlike electric heaters but instead of coils they had mesh reflector plates and were giving off a soft hum i could also hear a generator going somewhere close by.

*Nullifiers.....they look like series two* i thought.

I looked around the dark one room shack then did a quick scan and found that i was alone, i just lay my head back on the bed and tried to push away the sick feeling of dread i felt when i tried to remember what had happened.

Finally i couldn't take it and i started struggeling against the chains and shackles that held me to the bed, i guess i struggled for a good while until i had to give up from the blood i could feel running down my leg and from my wrist.

Just then i heard the door open and turned to see a cloaked figure shutting it behind them, i studied the figure trying to think of who it could be but i just couldn't place who it was, i didn't recognize anything about them but for some reason i got the strange feeling i knew them and it angered me because i didn't know who it was or why i did.

"Get out" i told them.

The figure didn't seem to hear me or didn't seem to care as they made their way over to a cuboard and started messing around with something, i could feel myself getting angry at who ever it was but i still had that strange feeling of knowing this person.

"I said get out!" i finally yelled, just then the figure went over to a bucket and dipped something into it then stood and started walking towards me, "Keep it down or you'll wake everyone in the village" said a female voice.

I glared at the figure as it got closer, "What do you care!, i told you to get the hell out!" i said.

The figure was closer now and i could see that who ever it was it wasn't an anthro and she didn't smell like a digimon but for some reason i could tell she wasn't human either so that left......a shifter?, *No....not a shifter, i can tell if someone's a shifter by the unique scent but something about her doesn't feel right* i thought to myself.

I narrowed my eyes at the woman now standing by the bed with what seemed to be a cup, "Who are you and what do you want from me" i asked warrily.

The woman just smiled at me and sat down on the bed and pressed the cup to my lips, i smelled the cup and realized it had water in it, i also realized how thirsty i was and started gulping down the water until there was none left.

After i had finished the cup she pulled it away and set it down on the floor by the bed, "Now tell me who you are and what you want" i said.

Again the woman just smiled "You'll know who i am in time Chad, but that's not why i'm here right know" she said to me.

I studied what i could see of her face trying to think of why she seemed so familier to me but for some reason it just wouldn't come to me, "Then why are you here, and how do you know me" i asked her.

"Oh we know quite alot about you chad more then you could even begin to beleave and as for the reason i'm here Chad, i came here to make you an offer" she said.

I glared at her for a second before my curiosity got the better of me, "What kind of offer?".

This seemed to please the woman greatly as she let her smile break into a grin, "I want you to join us Chad, join us and lend me your power together we can make a better world for our kind free from the hunters and the digimon and their hatred together we can make a world where shifters rule" as she spoke i heard something strange in her voice.

"And put the humans and digimon under your thumbs i take it......sorry to burst your bubble woman but i'm a mercinary i go where the money is and right now i've got a job to do" i said as i looked away from her.

She suddenly let out a soft lilting laughter "Hahahaha, Chad listen to me i know about your powers and what your capable of and i know that you can't control it either, but if you join me i can help you with that...i can teach you how to control your powers for the betterment of the shifters" she said as she put a hand on my face and turned my head back until i was looking at her.

I studied her for a minute before jerking my head away from her and looking away again, "I told you already woman i already have a job, i have no intrest in the betterment of shifter kind so you can take you offer and shove it" i said to her.

Suddenly pain exploded in my face as my head was turned from the force of getting hit, "Forget about the bitch Chad!!, i can give you everything you've ever wanted in life everthing you've ever dreamed about!, why do you insist on renting your powers out to these pieces of filth when your destined for so much more?!" i looked at the woman who had suddenly stopped ranting and reached out to stroke my face with an apalogetic look "Please forgive me for that, the others tell me that i have quite the temper at times but i really do want you to join us" she suddenly leaned down and pressed her lips hard into mine then pushed her tongue between my lips and explored my mouth with it.

I didn't even try to stop her but i didn't give her anything back either, Finally after a minute of this she pulled away and gasped for breath then smiled at me "I really do want your help Chad so as a peace offering i've brought you something that i think you might want" she said getting up.

She moved over to a table in the corner and set something on it before moving over to the door, i watched her the whole time to make sure she didn't try anything, when she got to the door she turned back and smiled at me then opened it "And i'll do one more thing for you to show my good will in this" she said as she moved through the door and closed it behind her.

When i was sure she was gone i turned my head and spit over the side of the bed to get the taste of her tongue out of my mouth then i looked back at the door, "Psycotic bitch".

Suddenly the generator started to sputter then finally cut off, i looked at the indicator lights on the nullifyiers and saw them cut off.

*She turned off the generator?* i thought to myself.

I summoned my power and forced it out of my body and felt the chains holding me to the bed slaken as the links were cut then i focused on the shackles and freed myself from them and sat up on the bed looking around.

I was in a shack that much i could tell just by looking and from the smell of it i knew that several anthro's had been in here over the course of the night, i looked out a window over the bed and saw it was still dark.

Slowly i got up off the bed ignoring the protests of my body and walked over to the table that held the bundle the woman had put there, when i got close enough i recognized it as the bag i had left my things in and opened it to find my things.

I quickly put my shirt on and wrapped my wings around my chest and put my trench coat and scarf on then made my way over to the bucket i had seen the woman get the water from, i picked it up and quickly drank my fill of it before putting it back then i moved over to the door.

Opening it i peeked out and looked to see if i was being guarded but there was no one outside so i quietly slipped out and made my way through the village, as i moved through the streets i caught many new scents and some i recognized from the castle.

I suddenly remembered the feeling i had from before and started making my way back through the streets of the dock village following any kind of scent i thought i recognized until i finally came across one i knew well, *This is Kate's scent* i thought to myself as i began following it.

I followed the scent staying low as it slowly got stronger and turned a corner only to come face to face with a brown female wolfess, she blinked a couple of times before her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth. I quickly grabbed her muzzle to keep her quiet and pulled her close to me as i glared at her.

"Make so much as a whimper and i sware by the gods the only thing your friends will find is a corpse!" i whispered sharply.

I saw her ears lay flat on her head as she quickly nodded, "Good now i'm going to ask you a very simple question and if you don't give me the answer i want to hear then you die!" i told her.

I could feel her starting to shake in my grip, "Where is the renamon?" i asked her.

I loosened my grip on her muzzle a little and she whispered to me, "Medical hut" i quickly clamped down on her muzzle again and jerked her closer looking directly into her eyes as i did to get my point across.

"Take me there now" i said.

She gave a quick nod and i let her go "Remember not a sound or a whimper or you die" i told her, i had to admit the kid was good despite my threat to her life she stayed quiet and silently lead me through the streets to the other side of the small village until she stopped in front of a small hut with a few lights on inside.

I looked at the hut then back to the girl "Is this where she is?" i asked her, the girl nodded to me but stayed silent.

I activated the tazer in my right hand and punched her in the stomach, she jerked a couple of times then fell over but before she hit the dock i grabbed her and held her up, i looked around for a few seconds and saw some crates over by one of the buildings so i dragged her behind the crates and set her down against the wall making sure she wasn't to uncomfortable before i went back over to the medical hut's doorway and peeked in through a gap in the wood but didn't see anyone so i opened the door and stepped inside.

I looked around the room i found myself in and realized it was some kind of store, there was a small counter and some chairs and on the back wall i saw several empty shelves that had probably at one time held jars of medicine. I spotted a door on the far side of the room and quickly moved over to it, i was just about to open it when i saw a shadow block out the light that was coming from under it for a second.

*Damn someone's on the otherside, must be that Sorcerymon from before, Kate said something about him being part of this village* i thought.

For the next thirty minutes i played a waiting game with the digimon on the other side of the door waiting for my opertunity to strike, finally it passed by the door again and i jerked it open. The Sorcerymon on the otherside turned quickly and dropped something but i didn't give it time to react as i grabbed it by the head and slammed it up against the wall making several things fall from a nearby table, i saw one of its hands move and used my other hand to pin it to the wall as i spoke, "If you want to live through this then the next move you make had better be a smart one" i growled.

I watched as the digimon's other hand slowly rose up and it tapped my wrist, i loosened my grip and let the Sorcerymon drop.

"Where is the female?" i asked as i watched the digimon fall to the floor gasping for breath, it slowly pointed to a side of the room and i turned to find that it was covered by a curtain. I grabbed the digimon by its cape with my left hand and dragged it over to the curtain, i jerked the thing aside with my right hand and almost dropped the digimon.

Serinity was laying peacefully on a cot with her eyes closed and bandages wrapped around her stomach, i also saw a large bowl filled with red tinted water along with several bloody bandages.

"Wh-what happened to her?" i asked.

"I don't know, by the time we got to you she was badly injured" the Sorcerymon said, "I've done what i can but without some data to help heal her i don't know if she's going to make it".

Suddenly my anger flared and i hurled the digimon against a nearby wall, "Don't you lie to me!, How did this happen?!" i yelled as i glared down at the digimon.

I watched as Sorcerymon picked himself up off the floor and looked at me, "I told you already! by the time i got there she was badly wounded!" he said again.

I looked back at Serinity and studied her as she lay there, "Is there anything you can do for here?" i asked.

"Not without data to help with the healing process" he told me.

*Data.......she needs fresh data does she* i thought as i eyed the digimon who was now checking her over, i shook my head and turned around heading for the door.

"Wait where are you going?!" he called after me.

I stopped at the door but didn't turn around, "I need to ask you a question......if she doesn't get the data how long would you say she has" i asked.

There was a pause before he answered me, "Frankly i'm suprised she's lasted this long but if things hold out like this......a day maybe?".

I clenched my fist at this as i asked another question, "Listen to me carefully digimon and answer honestly because if you don't then i'll kill you, i need you to tell me if there are any area's around the swamp that have a history of strange occurances".

Again the digimon paused "There is one place but it would mean death for you to go there" he said.

"The people of the swamp call it the wraith zone, and anyone who's ever gone in there has yet to come back out" he said.

"Where is this zone?" i asked him.

"It's about three hours west of here near the center of the swamp" he told me.

"There's one more thing i need from you digimon" i told him.

"What's that?" he asked.

"I need a guide"

"That is one thing i cannot help you with shifter, no one here would be able or willing to go on such a fools errand!" he said.

I could feel my anger rising as i looked back over my shoulder at him, "Then i will force them to do it wether they want to or not digimon but i will not let my charge die right in front of me" i growled.

I started to go through the door when the digimon got my attention again, "Shifter! why are you going to such lengths to help this renamon?" he asked me.

I paused in the doorway at his question "Because......"

"Why"

"It's my fault she's like this....i don't know how or why.....but she's like this because of me.....and i won't owe anyone anything if i can help it, especially my life" i told him before i slammed the door shut and left him there.

I immediately left the medical hut and went back to were i had hidden the female, she was still laying their so i picked her up by the front of her shirt and smacked her across the face several times until she woke up.

When she did i finally saw that look of fear i was use to so i dropped her and glared at her, "Same deal as before but this time your going to take me to Kates house" i told her.

she looked a little hesitent so i showed her my left hand and slowly unsheathed my nails to their full length, "Take me there now" i said.

The look on her face almost made me laugh because she looked like she was going to piss herself not to mention she was shaking like a leaf, i stepped out of the way and motioned for her to lead me and she quickly started walking.

Every few feet she would cast glances back at me out of fear or to make sure i was still following i'm not sure but i really didn't care, we finally got to Kates house and i noticed a light was on inside *Good she's awake, this will make it easier on me* i thought as i turned back to the girl.

"Get lost" i told her, she looked at me a little confused but didn't move.

I was starting to get pissed so i growled at her, "I told you to get lost you little brat or do you want me to kill you!".

Taking that as her clue she turned on her heels and bolted down the dock at top speed, i on the other hand turned back to Kate's door and stopped when i heard moaning on the otherside *Is she having.....sex?!* i thought.

*To hell with it i don't have time to be nice to her* i thought as i pushed on the door, for some reason the door wouldn't open *Damn she locked it* i thought.

I took a step back from the door and readied myself as i lifted my foot and kicked out, i felt the wood bend before it broke which was followed by a scream which i ignored as i walked inside her house and grabbed her clothes.

"Sorry about the door Kate but i need you to get dressed and send your......" i stopped talking when i looked over at kate and saw who she was with, Kate was laying done in the bed looking at me with the covers pulled up to her chin and behind her looking up at me with fear and embarassement in there eyes was......Ka'na?

I looked back at Kate and tossed her clothes to her, "I knew their was something wrong with you woman" i said.

Suddenly her expression turned from suprise to anger as she jumped out of the bed and stalked towards me, "And just what the hell do you think your doing here!?!?" she yelled at me.

"Do you have any idea of what common curtousy is!?!?, you could have just knocked on the damned door!" she yelled.

By this point the volume of her voice was hurting my ears and my anger was quickly rising, "I don't have time for your prattle little girl.....you have five seconds to get your clothes on before i drag you out of this place kicking and screaming" i told her.

As soon as i started talking she her mouth snapped shut with an audible click and she started to look scared "Now either you get your clothes on or we leave now" i said as i walked back out the door.

I waited outside her house until she finally poked her head out the door then i started walking toward the docks, judging from the sounds of her footsteps i could tell she was still struggling with something but i didn't care.

By the time she finally caught up with me i was casting the ropes off of one of the boats, "Damn it Chad are you going to tell me what this is all about!?" she asked me.

"Shut up and get in the boat woman, i don't have time to tell you what this is about" i said to her.

"NO!"

I stopped what i was doing and turned to glare at her and as soon as i did i could tell she was thinking it was a bad idea to say it again, "Get. in. the. fucking. boat.".

She quickly got in the boat and i started the engine and revved it and we shot forward into the swamp heading west, and for the better part of an hour we rode in silence.

"So when are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked me.

"Wraith zone" was all i said.

I could see her face turn to suprise then to worry and finally fear as she looked at me, "A-a-a-a-a-are you insane!!!, we can't go into the wraith zone!! no one who goes in there ever comes out!!!" she shreeked.

I flinched from the pitch of her voice and glared at her, "You know when Serinity shreeks she atleast has the sense to keep it down!!" i told her "and if you let me tell you some thing then maybe you'll under stand why i need your help!"

She quickly calmed down and looked at me but i could tell by the way her fur was standing up that she was scared shitless, "Serinity needs data to heal her wounds" i told her.

When i said Serinity's name Kate's ears perked up and she got a stern look on her face, "In that case why didn't you say so?" she said.

"Because we needed to leave as soon as possible and i didn't want to waste time by explaining it to you and your......girlfriend" i said.

Kate scowled at me for a minute before speaking again, "So if Serinity needs data why are we going to the wraith zone?" she asked.

I steered the boat around a tree as i spoke "Because this wraith zone as you call it isn't what you people think, it's not some mystical cursed place that holds dead things and demons unless you count the dead people that never came out" i told her.

Kate raised an eyebrow as she looked at me, "Then what is it shifter?" she asked me.

"It's a data spring"

This caused Kate to blink several times in confusion as she looked at me, "A....data spring? what's a data spring?" she asked.

"It pretty much explains itself doesn't it?" i told her, but instead of getting an ok i guess your right look i got one of those explain or suffur my wrath looks that only a woman can give.

*Sigh* "Look a data spring is just that, a spring for data, the only thing about it is that this is the ring so unlike the digital world the data isn't all around us and it doesn't make up everything......didn't they teach you about this in school?" i asked her.

Kate suddenly got a very bashfull look and shifted her gaze to the bottom of the boat, "Let's just say i wasn't the most attentive student when it came to nature science" she said sheepishly.

I looked her over for a second before nodding, "Got it you were to busy checking out the girls" This got a scowl that would have peeled paint but i ignored it as i continued talking "Basicly because of this fact the data collects and pools into a data spring which sometimes taking different shapes in the process ranging from tree's all the way to crystaline structures and even small pools of liquid data" i said.

"The only thing about it is that since this is the ring and we have such a diverse array of flora there are often times when a data spring goes untouched for years at a time and there are even springs that haven't been found yet, however this is the interesting part, when a data spring is found it is almost always found with mutated plants and animals that live within the thick fog that surrounds it.

Kate looked at me confused "You mean that there are plant's in the ring that haven't been documented yet?" she asked.

"Well considering the fact that the ring is only about eighty years old and counting in the size of the ring i seriously don't think that one botanist is going to be able to look out his window and say 'ok that's it for this place time to go find out what's on the other side of the house' do you?" i asked her.

Again i got a look that could have peeled pant but this time i said something about it "You know if you keep doing that your face will stick that way permanintly right?" *Yeesh if looks could kill* i thought as her scowl deepened.

"Anyway when this happens the most common effect is that anyone who goes into the mist in that area will hallucinate to the point that they won't be able to tell illusion from reality" i told her.

This seemed to catch her attention as she leaned forward to look at me, "So your telling me that because of the mist and the mutated plant life anyone who goes into this dense mist won't be able to tell fantisy from reality but what causes the illusions to appear in the first place?" she asked.

I thought about this for a minute before answering, "Well i'm not really sure it could be the mist itself or the pollen from the meat eating plant's or a combination of both but the last time i had to go into a data spring was several years ago but i found that if i kept my mouth and nose covered i could walk around freely while suffering only minor sideffects but i need someones help to get the data from the spring" i told her.

She seemed sceptical about this last part so the question she asked was expected "If you can move around freely then why is it that you need my help to get the data?" she asked me.

"Because i can't touch the spring directly" i said.

She looked at me for a second, "You care to explain this part or am i going to find out for myself" she asked.

I hesitated about telling her this next part but if she was going to help me then she would have to know, "The.....the thing about the spring is that when a shifter gets close wierd things happen to them" i said as i looked down at the floor of the boat "The last time i went near a spring......well lets just say that it wasn't pretty for the guys following me" i said softly.

I turned my gaze back to the way ahead and for a while Kate kept silent for which i was thankfull but finally she turned back to me "So if shifters have an advirse reaction to the spring then why even go near them at all?" she asked.

"It's because of the fact that if we somehow do manage to get some of the data from the spring then it has massive healing properties for us shifters that absorb data unlike when i absorb the data from a digimon the data from a data spring would be able to regrow my lost limbs and return my eye to me but there's also a drawback to using it" i said.

She didn't say anything but i knew that she wanted to know what it was and just to make sure she didn't try anything stupid with me and the data i told her, "The thing about the spring data is that if a shifter uses it than it will effect us like a drug".

"What you mean like morphine or something?" she saind.

I shook my head as i spoke again, "Try cocaine.....the thing about the spring is that it is addictive to shifters becuase of the power rush it gives us and if we use it to often then the data it will corrupt us beyond saving" i said.

She got a wide eyed look as she thought about this "So when you say that you can't touch the spring directly you ment that it would be bad for you but mostly for me am i right?".

I nodded to her and turned the boat to avoid a tree, by this time i could tell that the landscape was changing because there were fewer trees and occasionally i could hear something scraping the bottom of the boat.

"So wait if you said that the mist or pollen from these plants effects the mind of anyone who enters then how am i going to help you if i'm effected" she suddenly asked me.

I let go of the engine control for a second and slid back a small panel near my elbow on my right arm and pulled out what looked to be nose plugs like the ones professional swimmers use but these were a bit strange because they actual curled into your nose (Think Battle field earth's breathing filters).

I held out my hand and she took it from me giving it a quick look before giving me a questioning glance "It's a breathing filter used to filter out unwanted particals in the air you'll be able to breath and think normally if you can restrain yourself from using your mouth to breath" i told her.

She nodded to me then seemed to think about something "So if i'm using this what are you going to use for protection? she asked me.

(should I?.....hmmm.....this parts up to you cat but it didn't hit me about what she said until after she had said it)

I couldn't help but smirk at what she had said and no i couldn't resist saying it, "Why Kate if i didn't know better i would sware you just asked me what kind of protection i was going to use, better not let your girlfriend hear you say something like that otherwise she might get jealous" i said.

*WHACK* "Ouch!"

"Now you cut that shit out right now!" she yelled at me, i eyed her suspiciously as she sat on the bench *I'll give her this much she freakin fast!!!, i didn't even see her move!!" i thought.

She continued to glare at me as she spoke "Ka'na is not my girlfriend and i'm not a lesbien!"

I gave her a sour look "well you coulda fooled me with all of that moaning you were doing!' suddenly i remebered something that she had said at the castle "wait didn't you say that you didn't swing that way back at the castle?" i asked.

By this time she was staring down her nose at me, "I did say that and for your information both Ka'na and i are virgin's and Ka'na is just a really good friend that's all!....i...was just....helping her through her heat is all" she said as she turned away from me.

Even though her face was covered in fur i could tell that she was blushing hard, "Did you injoy it?" i asked her.

This seemed to catch her offguard because she looked at me strangely, "Don't be bashfull woman answer the question" i said to her.

She still didn't say anything and looked away from me, I could tell from the look on her face that she had but didn't want to admit it to herself.

"Look don't feel bad about it your not the only one who's done things their not proud of, i certainly can't heckle you about it otherwise i'd be nothing more than a hipocrit" i said to her.

This made her look at me questioningly and all i did was raise an eyebrow, "How do you think i survived being on my own for so long before becoming a merc?".

By now Kate was looking at me strangly again "You mean....you?".

"Sold my body? on occasion when i couldn't find food in the trash and no i'm not gay or bi i just did what i needed to do to survive" i told her.

This got a suprised look from her, "I thought you said that humans and digimon wouldn't have anything to do with shifters" she said slowly.

I gave her a dry look "Yeah well there are some pretty sick humans and digimon out there" i said to her.

Just then the boat jerked and came to a stop as we hit something below the water, i looked past Kate and realised that farther in i could see land. Kate and i jumped out of the boat and dragged it to shore before heading further in with Kate in the lead.

"So why do they call this the wraith zone?" i asked her as we walked.

"It's because of the things that are seen in the mist" she said.

"Things in the mist?"

Kate stopped walking and looked back at me "Figures....sometimes massive othertimes small but all of them nothing more than shadows" she looked down at the ground as she continued to speak "They say that if you listen hard enough you'll hear the voices of those you lost like their souls garthered in the mist and are now waiting to take those who venture into it to the otherside" she said.

I studied her for a minute before stepping forward and putting a hand on her shoulder "Look just remember that it's nothing more than an illusion, a trick of the mist ment to draw you in and trap you nothing more.....if you do as i told you then it shouldn't be a problem" i told her.

She nodded at this and we started making our way further into the marsh.

_______________________________________________________________

Chapter Fiftyone

"There it is" Kate said as she pointed into the trees before us, i looked forward and confermed my suspitions.

Floating in the air was a thick golden mist that seemed to cling to everything within its boundries, it swirled and shifted around almost like it was alive and within the mist i thought i saw faint silhouettes moving around.

i turned to look at Kate and saw her putting on the breather i had given her, "Remember Kate anything you see within the mist is an illusion a trick that could very well lead you to your death so no matter what happens no matter what you hear or see don't leave my side i don't care if you have to use the bathroom" i told her.

She finished putting on the mask and nodded to me, we walked up to the edge of the mist barrier. I took a deep breath and rapped one of the extra flaps of my scarf around my head so that only my right eye could see then turned to look at Kate.

She was looking at me intently "Why did you wrap up your eye?".

"Because i told you before i will suffer minor effects from the mist if i keep my scarf wrapped around my face and if i didn't have my mod eye then i would see things, doing it this way i won't be taken in by anything i would normaly see since mechanical things don't register figments of the imagination" i told her.

She seemed to take this at face value and we both turned back to look at the wall of mist before us, "Are you ready?" i asked her.

"Not really but if we don't then it will turn out badly right"

I nodded at this and took a deep breath, "Then once more into the frey we go" i said as we both took a step forward.

As we entered the mist i could feel it slid over me like a thick blanket that seemed to invade every part of my body as it got into my clothes, *it feels like i'm walking into a wall of water* i thought.

"It's so warm" i heard Kate say as we pushed our way further into it.

"Just remember what i said" i told her as we continued to push our way in.

as we walked i thought i heard something large moving through the trees but i couldn't see anything in the thick mist so i just kept pushing forward, "Is this stuff ever going to let up?" i heard Kate mumble after about fifteen minutes.

By this time i could hear many different sounds and i wasn't to happy about the things i was hearing, growls, tweets, splashes, giggles, screams, and haunting voices that i knew weren't real all of these things assualted my ears as i pushed my way through the thick mist and made me very jumpy.

"Chad? is this stuff going to let up any time soon?" Kate asked me.

"Judging by the increasing density of the mist i would say that we're almost-" just then we seemed to step through a wall and into an area filled with large strange plants that seemed to get bigger as we looked farther in "There".

"What is this place? Kate asked me as she looked around us in wonder.

"Think of it as the heart of the wraith zone.....in this place lay the most dangerous and beautiful creatures and plants ever created.....things that human children could only dream about in nightmares and their parents only here about in myths and the whispers of the dark" i said.

I watched as she walked forward and started checking things out before looking at me, "Are you sure? this place is so beautiful" she said as she looked around again.

I bent down and picked up a stick that was laying on the ground then walked up to Kate and put a hand on her shoulder, when i did she looked at me.

"Reguardless of how something may look you'll have to remember that in a place like this nothing is what it seems and beautiful things can often times be the deadliest" i told her.

She seemed scepticale about this so i turned her around until she was looking at a large plant a few feet behind her, the thing had a massive flower with multipule colors ranging from earth tones to bright neon colors that seemed to shift and swirl in odd patterns.

I tossed the stick into the main flower and watched as it suddenly heaved up and snapped shut, after that i heard kate whimper and felt her grab my arm.

"I guess you were right Chad this place is alot more dangerous then it looks" she said.

I started carefully into the deeper parts of the glaid as i spoke back to her, "This place even though dangerous is not something that should be feared only respected Kate, should humans ever find their way in here without destroying it i'm sure that they would find that this place has many unique things that could help heal or even cure some of the illnesses of their world, if the don't destroy the data springs first" i said.

"What do you mean destroy them?" she asked.

"Most places like this when they're found by the humans are reported to the authorities, givin sufficiant motivation the humans come in to the borders of the data spring and use everything they can get their hands on to destroy these places and in the process the collected data will seep into the ground and corrupt the surrounding area" i told her.

Just then i heard something move off to my right and motioned for her to stop as i looked around, i did a thermal scan but found that in this place it was useless so i switched back to normal vision and carefully pressed on.

"So the data from a spring is like poison for the surrounding area?"

I shook my head "Not so much poison but in a sense the data is just to concentrated in form to actually be of any use to the surrounding area the mist that you see gathered around these places is kind of like a despersal system, when the ambiant data shifts form like from a liquid it collects in the air and forms into mist which then drifts out into the surrounding area givin enough time the area we saw on the way here would be over grown with many types of different plants and animals like the ones around us as the data is slowly intigrated into the world around it so you could probably think of the intire thing as a kind of filter system for the data that collects in the ring from the digital world and the human one" i told her.

"How do you know all of this stuff Chad?, have you actually studied these places and the process?" she asked me.

"Not really but i have seen what happens to an area after the humans destroy it, the earth turns black and all of the surrounding flora will wilt and die eventually the area is unable to even sustain the most basic of life forms and it becomes a deadzone almost like the intire area lost its heart, like the way a town would die if it lost its food or water source" i said "everything else is meerly observation and speculation between me and a couple of shifter companions of mine who just happen to think that these places are nothing more than random events that should be destroyed unlike me"

"So if this area is like a filter then were does the data for the spring come from?" she asked me, "i can only speculate on this but i think it comes from the digital sea and other parts of the digital world as the merger of the worlds continues, basicly i think that as the digital and human worlds shrink and increase the size of the ring the un-used data from the digital world floats around in the atmosphere until it begins to collect and forms into a data spring or it collects into an existing one how this happens i'm not really sure but like i said this is all speculation" i told her.

just then i heard something move again and stopped moving, *somethings following use* i thought as i carefully scanned the area i heard the sound come from.

"What's the matter Chad? is something out there?" Kate asked quietly.

As i searched the surrounding foliage i heard something move around to my left so i grabbed Kate and pulled her into some bushes, we waited as we watched the leave's rustle around then a small creature emerged it looked like a mix between a lizard and a cat or a dog i couldn't tell which, it had dark blue scaly skin all over its body that got lighter as it started to go toward its belly and its body looked like one a cat would have and stood just as high it even had a long thin tail much like a cats but as i looked at the head i realized that it was more remenisant of a dog with a long muzzle and sharp teeth and its ears were pointed and about six or seven inches long but the thing that caught my eye was the large gash running down its rear leg.

It limped around some before finally falling over and letting out a few squiles of pain, Just then Kate jumped out of the bushes and started towards the thing, "You idiot don't go near it! you don't know how dangerous it is!......damn it!" i said as i got out of the bushes and started after her.

By the time i got to her she was kneeling over the thing "Ahhh it's so cute!" she said as she looked back at me "How could anything this cute be dangerous?" she asked me before she turned around and started to stroke the thing.

"First off did you even bother to listen to what i told you when we got here!?!, we don't know what that this is cappable of!" i said.

"Not to mention if this thing is injured then what the hell did it? did you ever think of that!" i said.

Unfortunatly i didn't have to wait long for 'THAT' answer because right then the thing on the ground started to squile again and tried to limp off into some bushes while a deep rumbling growl emmenated from the bushes behind me, by this time i was starting to get very irritatede as i turned around to look at what was behind me.

What i saw almost threw me for a loop standing in the bushes was some kind of large bug!, it had eight legs that where probably three or four feet long with some kind of webbing between them giving the impression of a skirt, it was a pale tan color and it had a long soft looking tube like body about the size of my thigh and it was about as long as my leg for that matter, it has multifacited eyes like a crickets but instead of a mandible for the mouth it had a bysectioned jaw that split right down the middle revealing row upon row of small razor sharp teeth that gleemed wickedly in the light we had.

And on its rear or tail section it had several tenticals that seemed to come out of that end like they were in some kind of pouch and they were waving in the air, "Oh come on!!!, am i ever going to catch a break or what?!"

Just then the thing jumped into the air and over my head, i turned and released my claws on both hands and struck out just as it landed but the thing dodged to the left and shreiked at me.

It angled its body down and i saw several clear spine like protrusions raise up on its back before it gave another shreik and the things flew off its back directly at me, i jumped to the side and tucked into a roll as the things flew past me then jumped forward as my feet hit the ground and lashed out with my right hand.

I felt and saw my claws sink into the soft flesh of the bug as i cut the thing in half, i watched as its body spewed out some kind of green slime before it fell to the ground with a loud shreik and went still.

I slowly stood up and looked at the thing laying on the ground before me before turning around to glare at Kate, "For the last time quit screwing around and lets get to the spring before we get killed by something around here ok!?!" i said to her.

Unfortunatly she wasn't listening to me because she was using part of her shirt to bandage up the creature that she now had on her lap, "It's ok little guy, that things not going to get hurt you any more" she told it.

I let my head hang in defeat , "Why is it nobody ever listens to me when i say not to do something?, am i talking in some alian language or do people just not care about their own safty any more" i said.

"There all better"

I looked up at her and saw her standing up and the creature was slowly getting to its feet then it looked aroundat me then to kate and gave off a small wierd braking sound.

"Marp!"

"Ohh even its bark is cute!" she squiled.

"Ok 'now' i'm gonna get sick" i said as i looked at the little exchange.

Suddenly the creature started hopping around and barking its little bark before limping over to some bushes then it looked back over its shoulder at us and whimpered.

Kate looked at the thing for a minute before turning to me, "I think it wants us to follow it" she said.

By this time i was really starting to get pissed so i glared at her, "We don't have time to go chasing off after a spring creature Kate, we have to get to the data spring and back to Serinity before its to late" i said.

*whimper*

I looked down at the ground in front of me and saw the creature looking back at me patheticly, i started shaking my head at it "No! like i told her we don't have time to go chasing after you! my friend needs the data from the spring-"

"Marp!" it barked at me as it started waging its tail.

"Come on Chad maybe it knows the way to the spring, it does live here after all" Kate said.

Just then the thing turned to her and started hopping around again and barking happily, "I give up" i said.

"Fine but if this is a wild goose chase i sware i'm going to have a new belt" i said as i glared at the little creature.

All it did was limp off into the bushes with a little bark so we started following it but just before we left the clearing we where in i heard something rustle behind me and turned around to look.

But there was nothing there, i looked closer and realized that the corpse of the bug thing had vanished.

*Must have been some other kind of spring creature just going after an easy meal* i thought as i turned back around and followed after Kate and the creature.

For sevearal hours the thing lead us around the area like it was looking for something, all the while my anger was rising until i finally lost it.

"That is it!" i said making both the creature and kate stop and look back at me, "I don't have time to go chasing this thing around the area so it can look for what ever the hell its looking for Kate! i could have found the spring on my own by now and we would be half way back to the boats too!"

"Chad i know that your worried about Serinity but the little guy is just trying to help us find the spring" Kate said.

"No it isn't Kate! for the last several hours this thing has been leading us in one big circle around the center of the spring!" i told her.

"Its been almost nine hours since we got here and the only thing that creature is doing is giving use the run around!" i told her.

"I told you that i won't go on a wild goose chase Kate and that's all this thing is!, now you can keep chasing this thing around if you want but i'll wait for you at the spring if you ever get there that is" i said as i stalked off.

"Chad wait what if he's just leading us on the safe route and avoiding all of the dangerous things?" she asked me.

This made me stop and turn around, "Leading us!?" i said "This thing is a denazine of the spring Kate it's probably just leading us into a trap if it's smart enough to do even that!"

That said i turned to walk off only to feel something pull on one of the straps of my boot, i looked back and found the little creature looking up at me and tugging on my boot strap as it whimpered and whined.

I jerked my boot from the thing and glared at it, "Get away from me you little bastard! i don't have time for your field trip through the spring what i need is the data spring!" i growled at it.

"Marp, marp, marrrrp!" it barked before looking back at the way it had been going.

"No! i don't want to follow you around this place i want to find the spring so i can get out of here!" i yelled.

I turned around and tried to head for the center of the spring but when i turned away from the thing i felt something sharp hit me in the back, i turned back and glared at the thing as i reached around to my back and felt around.

"Tell me you did not just do what i think you did you little shit!" i growled.

Just then i felt my fingers brush across something sticking out of my coat so i pulled it free and looked at it, what i saw was a small black spine of some kind that was about two inches long.

I snapped the thing and looked back at the creature as my anger flared, "That is it you little shit!, it's bad enough that you've lead me around this place in one big fucking circle but now you have the balls to attack me!? i was going to take it easy on you but now that you've done this i might as well kill you!" i yelled as i took a swipe at the thing.

It jumped back out of reach of my claws and i saw a frill flare around its neck as it hissed flicked its tail at me, i felt sharp pains from my chest as something struck me and i looked down to find more of the spines sticking out of my shirt.

"Come here you little bastard!" i yelled as i took a few more swipes at it, it dodged out of the way of my attacks and bounded off into the bushes so i bolted after it.

"Your not going to get away from me you little bastard, i'll kill you before i find the spring then i'll turn you into a fucking belt just like i promised!" i yelled as i chased the thing around a tree.

"Chad stop it right now it was just trying to get you to follow it!" Kate yelled from somewhere behind me.

"Well i'd say it did a pretty good fucking job in that respect!"

I jumped for the thing but as i sailed through the air it stopped in its track and i over shot and headed right for a tree, "Chad!".

"Your not gonna be that lucky you little shit!" i said as i flipped and planted my feet on the tree then kicked off right at the creature.

I could see they suprise in the things eyes as i flew through the air at it, unfortunately the thing didn't stay suprised as it dodged out of the way at the last second and i ate dirt hard.

I must have slid a good five or ten feet before i finally came to a stop face down on the ground, I could hear Kate laughing at me as i slowly pushed myself back up and glared back at her "I give it and five point three, next time try and stick the landing" she chuckled before bursting into full blown laughter.

"Hahahaha, i'm sorry Chad but you gotta admit if it was me you'd be laughing too hahaha".

I stood up and started to walk towards her when i felt something hit me in the back so i turned around and spotted the little creature over by some large bushes, "You.....little shit, even after all of this your still going to attack me!?" i said "I'll give you this.....for a belt you sure do have some balls.....i'll remember to put that on you tombstone" i said as i took a step forward.

All the thing did was bark at me before walking into the bushes, "Oh no you don't you little shit!, you're not getting away that easily" i growled as i started after it again.

"Chad come on just stop it already!, leave it alone Please!" i heard Kate say.

I ignored her plee for mercy as i ran into the bushes and came out in a small clearing, I saw the creature sitting by a small pool of glittering water and looking back at me.

"Marp!"

It barked at me before turning around and jumping into the pond, i don't know why but i waited for the thing to come back out and when it did it reached around and bit through the makeshift bandage that Kate had put around its hind leg.

The bandage fell away revealing undamaged skin, when i saw this i quickly ran forward and started checking it over before finally looking at the pool, "The data spring....."

To Be Continued........