FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Okay, I know it's been a while, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Sorry, but I dunno why this one is a little off to me. If anyone can tell me, please let me know.

~~~

Alchemy

"Alchemy?" I asked. "So it wasn't magic?"

"No," Kendric smiled. "These two are completely different. Alchemy is an advanced skill of science. They expertise both on chemistry and physics. Alchemy is a scientific art of breaking down the chemical or physical components of an object and recreate them into a new form."

Kendric pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and laid it in front of us.

"The basics of alchemy are divided into three parts," he explained. "The first part is knowledge. You must know the basic components of the objects you are trying to transmute. For example, a piece of paper. Its components are mostly carbon, so after you know it, you draw what we alchemists call a transmutation circle."

Kendric expertly drew a perfect circle on the paper with a slightly smaller in it.

"The two circles represent the flow of energy needed for the transmutation. Next, we have to draw the elements needed for the transmutation: fire, water, air, and earth."

He drew two triangles overlapping with each other, creating a hexagram. On each edge of the triangle and the space between the circles, he drew some symbols.

"These symbols are the formula to break down those physical and chemical components of the object and rebuild them. There are a variety of them; depending on what usage you have in store for them. After you finish the transmutation, you begin with step two: deconstruction. You break them down and quickly step into the third step: reconstruction. The amount you reconstruct depends on how much you deconstruct. Like this."

He tapped the outer circle and it began to glow. The flow of energy sends lightning and sparks flying close by. After a few seconds, on the center of the transmutation circle, a small figurine the shape of a husky emerged made of paper.

"Cool!" I smiled.

"And tricky," Kendric added. "The results may vary depending on the user's mental image."

"So you kinda have to concentrate, huh?" Mei observed the result.

"But not as much as magic. Magic requires full concentration to cast in full power, while alchemy can be done if you know what you're doing, even with little concentration."

"How do you know it needs more concentration if you can't cast them?" I asked.

"John told me," he smiled. "He learned a lot more things than I did about magic."

"Really?"

"Really."

Our conversation was slightly interrupted by a banging noise outside the room. It sounded like a gong ringing in the halls.

"What was that?" I asked. Kendric and Mei walked over to the door and opened it slightly to see a nurse in front of the room gathering some syringe on the floor. They helped her pick them up and placed them on the steel bowl on the floor. After the nurse left, they entered the room once more.

"For a minute there, I thought it was John hitting someone with a pan again," I smiled.

"He's still into it?" Kendric chuckled.

"To some people," John's voice appeared from the door. We turned once more to see him, Ter, and Bryan standing on the doorway.

"Hi guys!" I said to them.

"Wild daisies for the injured," Ter said as he handed me another bouquet of my favorite flowers.

"Thanks!"

"Dad, can I enter now?" Bryan asked.

"Sure thing," Kendric smiled as he waved his hand to his son. "We've just finished a second ago."

The three of them entered the room and we started to chat about a variety of topics.

"Oh," Mei snapped her fingers. "Before I forget!" She quickly took out some pieces of paper from her bag and handed them to Kendric.

"Kendric, you said that the formula differs in usage, right?"

"Yes," Kendric nodded.

"Then can you decipher this circle?"

I took a peek on the paper and noticed the patterns.

"It's the one I interrupted last night!" I told them. "Lloyd was about to do something when my phone rings!"

"Well, what remains of it anyways," Kendric sighed. "This circle is broken. The ground was split here and there. There are also chunks of them that are missing."

"Still, can you decipher it?"

"I still need the chunks over here, here, here, and here," he said as he pointed to several parts of the picture.

"No prob!" Bryan smiled. "All we need to do is go there, right?"

"Hm?"

"What's..."

As I was about to finish the sentence, the ground shook slightly. We steadied our grounds in the small earthquake. The tremor lasted a few seconds before it dissipates.

"Well," Bryan smiled. "That wasn't so ba..."

Without warning, a loud boom rang outside, so loud that the ground shook violently. We quickly grabbed a heavy object and hanged on. The earth shook for several seconds before the earth wave dissipates.

"What was that?" Mei asked. I quickly turned my head towards the window to find a large fire erupting out in the distance.

"Is that fire?" I pointed. Everyone turned and saw where I was pointing. We quickly dashed out of the room towards the parking lot. Mei and I quickly followed Ter and John who was going towards the black truck parked close by. Bryan and Kendric head towards their own car parked a few feet away. Mei and I quickly jumped in the back of the truck as John and Ter entered the front. Ter quickly started the engine and led the way towards the fire. On the truck, I saw John tried to wear a hooded brown cloak over his body. It looked really worn out with holes and ripped parts on the end of it.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Concealing my identity," he answered as he pulled his hood down.

"What for?"

He never answered my question. We soon reached our destination. It was the warehouse where I fought Lloyd last night. John quickly stepped out of the truck and ran towards the front line of the crowd, followed by the rest of us shortly.

"Whoa there!" The firefighter stopped him. "You can't get near here!"

"Move!" He yelled, pushing the fireman aside. He passed the safety line and began to cast some magic from his hand. As he pointed both arms forward, an array of water spells burst in front of him, dousing the flames. Viewers around us gasped at the magical display and stared at the torrent of water that continues to flow from his hands. No longer than a few seconds, the fire subsides. The firemen stopped their hoses, but John didn't. The water barrage kept coming like a never-ending torrent. Ter noticed this and quickly stepped forward to shake him.

"Hey! Stop!" He told him. John flinched a little and turned his head towards Ter. I can't see what his face looked like, but it finally made him stop. The spell glyphs disappeared and he turned towards us. The crowd soon cheered at his heroic action. As I was about to congratulate him, I saw the depressed look on his face. His arms were trembling beneath the shredded cloak.

"What's wrong?" Mei, who apparently noticed this too, asked him. He snapped out of his daze and looked at us.

"I-It's nothing, really," he smiled. We all turned to see the damages that had been caused. The burnt down building was completely ruined. Possibilities, it could collapse at any given moment. We all gave a big sigh. We turned our heads and saw the fire chief getting closer to us.

"Thank you for your help," the fire chief said to him.

"What happened?" John asked him.

"The earthquake caused it. The tremor was so big that a few gas pipes leaked. The metals inside hit each other, causing a spark that lead to the explosion slash fire we just put out right now."

"Is it okay for us to explore a bit?"

"No- no. The building is quite fragile now. It could collapse any minute."

Like in a cue, the building suddenly collapses in front of our eyes, creating a flat surface above the pile of rubble.

"Well whaddaya know," he smiled. "It collapsed."

"Hey chief," someone yelled out. "I think you might wanna take a look at this."

"Sorry," he smiled at us. "I gotta go." He shortly left us standing where we were and walked over to one of the firemen near the scene. Seconds later, a police car arrived at the scene. John shortly walked away towards it.

"There goes the clues..." I sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Kendric smiled at me. "I can translate it, but it will take a longer time than before."

"Alright..."

"Now that all of the troubles have disappeared, why don't we celebrate?" Bryan suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... We stopped a fire, Michael's okay now, Lloyd's plan is prevented for a while, and I'm getting out of my suspension. This is definitely something to celebrate about."

"But it's so sudden!" Mei told him. "Where can we find a place to celebrate all these in such short notice?"

Everyone immediately eyed John who was talking to Louis who had just arrived a few moments ago. He suddenly noticed our stares and faced our direction. He quickly eyed our faces with a strange expression.

"What?" he raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Our smiles widen and we began to fill in the blanks for the two of them.

"Party at my place?" he asked.

"Don't you guys have school tomorrow?" Louis asked us.

"Come on!" Ter smiled. "Lay back once in a while!"

"Et tu, Terrance..." John sighed.

"John, you need the break. Otherwise, you won't be able to get that out of you mind."

The rest of us gave the two a confused look but didn't press the matter. John smiled under his hood and nodded.

"Oh well... I guess it's okay."

"Then it's settled!" Bryan smiled. "Let's party!"

"Louis. Could you call Lionel and the others to party as well?" I asked him. Louis just nodded and picked up his cell as we went towards the estate. John and I immediately went towards the kitchen and started to cook several dishes. I was about to garnish the main course, a fillet with a side of sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes, when I heard John sighing behind me.

"What's wrong?" I turned around to face him. He snapped his head towards me in surprise. He slowly turned that look into a reassuring smile.

"Nothing," he said. "Being in this large group reminds me about our old group."

"You mean the five of us?" John nodded.

"Usually, it was Albert that always want to relax like this. I kinda missed the old days."

"Speaking of which, where is he?"

"Who?"

"Al. He's the only one missing in the group."

John sighed and turned his head towards the soup he was making.

"He didn't..." he said before shutting up and stared at the soup. "Never mind."

"Huh?"

"I... can't tell you the reason yet."

"Oh..." I answered as I went back to my dish. "Okay. But let me know someday, okay?"

"Alright..."