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"Argh....Damn it..." In a low growl, Desho scratched at his head, taking deep breaths. His head continued to throb and ache with the pain from the Wraith of almost a month before. He sat in a cold chair in the Professor's clinic of SAIA. The walls and furniture had at last been repaired from the damages caused the escape of the Professor's 'project', the blue walls were replaced with a green that made Desho sick. It may have just been the head ache.

The wolf Professor stood in front of the pained cat, "Desho...you need to clear your mind or you're going to go insane." The grim wolf leaned forward over Desho, "I've told you this many times and I hate repeating myself." The wolf spoke in a spiteful tone.

"I know, damn it..." He hissed and snarled lightly, holding his throbbing head. It felt like his brain was imploding on itself. "It's...oh god...It's so difficult...It's gotten worse...AH!" he yowled in pain.

"Sheesh...I make one mistake and now I have to deal with this..." The Professor turned around and slammed his paws on the desk, where the broken container of the Wraith remained. "You may have destroyed my little project but the damage remains, you and your girlfriend are in danger."

"Wh-What!? Is Faye dealing with this too?" Desho looked up to him and bit his lip. The very thought that Faye would have to deal with this pain as well made him sick to his stomach. "D-damn it all...It's all my fault...I couldn't save her..."

"Stop that nonsense; you'd both be dead if you didn't destroy the 'Wraith' project." The wolf grumbled and rubbed his blonde head between his head-wings, "Trust me child, be glad you're not the one with Fa'Lina chewing you out over some failed experiment."

Desho took a deep breath and thought of a piece of paper, no details, just paper. He thought casually about a paper and his head slowly dulled the pain. He continued this until the headache slowly faded. In five minutes, he released a breath and his mind was clear again. During the month, there were only two things that eased his pain: paper, and the kisses he received from Faye...the one most important to him.

"Are we going to be okay? Faye and I, are we going to be able to get over this?"

The wolf was sullen and silent, he looked to the hurt cat and then he sighed, "I don't know...The attack appears to have unlocked some of her memories. She's told me that they're flooding her mind." The wolf coughed and returned to Desho's front, "I couldn't tell you what's going to happen next."

Desho looked to the floor and rubbed his face, "Her memories...She's told me about it too..." He held his paws together, "She didn't want to learn them and now, she's being forced to..." He felt his gut wrench and his heart dropped. "I have to find her....I have to be with her."

"No Desho, you need to rest." The Professor frowned and sternly faced down the morose cat. "What good are you going to do her if you lose your mind to the damage the Wraith caused?"

Desho bit his lip and he felt his eyes burning, "I-I....." He sniffed and cleared his thoat, "....Okay....I'll go rest."

"....Rath, come in now." The wolf called out.

In a few seconds, the red lizard stepped in and approached the cat, "Desho...Are you gonna be alright?" The lizard incubus wore a expression of worry as he held his best friend's shoulders.

"Rath...I don't know..." Desho smiled wryly and stood on his feet slowly, "I need to go rest. Help me out?"

"Of course, brother." Rath grabbed Desho's arm and held it over his shoulder.

The Professor coughed, "Rath, return here when Desho gets to sleep...We need to talk."

Rath looked back, "...Yes Professor..." He hoisted Desho for support and stepped slowly out of the room.

Step by aching step, the two slowly made their way. The usual lively attitude of the Academy was surely present but everything seemed quite gloomier than usual. Desho, arm slung over Rath's shoulder, watched with contempt as the other Cubi who passed by with their smiles and carefree attitudes; he began to loathe them.

Ignoring the other students, the cat kept his eyes straight ahead. On the wall beside him, he gave nary a glance at the small bunch of about five or so portraits on the wall.

"More students have gone missing it seems..." Rath droned as he watched the posters of various students on the 'Lost and yet to be Found' display. He cleared his throat and looked away, he was becoming worried at the number of student who have disappeared over the past month.

"Missing?" Desho shook his head with a frown, "Well at least I'm not the only one who is feeling lost..." He grumbled as they continued to the Incubus Dorm.

...Meanwhile, in the Headmistress' office.

Fa'Lina, in her pink dress and long gloves sat beside a sleeping Faye. She slowly rubbed her blonde hair and watched her peacefully sleep. The poodle's mind was silent, quelled by her will as she waited quietly beside the young child who didn't deserve what she was being forced to experience...

"hmm....Desho...don't lose hope..." Faye barely muttered.

Fa'lina froze and a light breath escaped her.

"Desho.....I'm...sorry...I...I..." Faye rustled softly before calming under the warm blanket. "...Goodbye," She muttered incoherently then sobbed softly before she went quietly to sleep.

Fa'line held her chin and huffed. "...Why? Despite her memory loss, she still clings to the belief of her clan..." She felt her heart rend and remained still, her hand shook. She looked back to the sleeping Faye and rubbed her golden hair once again, "...Why must it be this way?"

...Back in the Professor's clinic.

Rath returned and sat in the chair Desho was before and he looked up to the grim wolf looking away, "Alright, I'm here, what do you desire?"

"Desire? Such mannerisms are unnecessary child, just listen to my requests..." The Professor turn around and looked directly into Rath's glowing green eyes. "This concerns your two closest friends...I hate to say this but....They need to stop seeing each other."

"What!? Why?" Rath leaned forward and gripped his knees.

The Professor's gaze was hidden behind the glaring reflection of his round glasses, "...This may be hard for you to listen to and accept but the responsibility falls to you now. You claim to be a brotherly figure for those two...It's time for you to act on those feelings."

Rath looked away and bit his lips, "...Alright, what is it? What's going to happen?", he watched the wolf with an estranged leer.

The Professor turned away and crossed his arms, "Faye...will be leaving us soon..."

Rath looked up to him with a lost stare, his heart stopped and his scales froze still, "...You...can't mean...She's going to die?" His heart refused to beat it seemed.

"If only it was that simple..." The Professor rubbed his chin and sighed, "...Faye isn't leaving us in that sense, I've yet to understand it myself but Faye has been dead for a long time."

Rath was stunned and chill ran up his spine. His wings fluttered nervously and his tail froze still, "....What the hell are you talking about!? You expect me to believe that? She's not undead and ghosts don't exist!" He clawed at his legs.

"...Believe what you like child!" He growled viciously before taking a quick, "Now shut up and listen. She's neither an undead nor a ghost, yes, but Faye is more like a memory, a memory that should have been forgotten." The wolf adjusted his glasses, "The Wraith Project unlocked those memories...and now it's leading to Faye's destruction."

Rath gasped and shook his head, "That's insane...How can someone die from a memory?" It was ridiculous, he had heard of people dying of broken hearts but this didn't feel the same. He wanted to punch the Professor in his stern face but on the hand, he knew the grim wolf may be right and that just angered him more.

The wolf snorted, frustrated, "You insist on referring to this as her 'death' when in actuality, the Faye you know was never really ali-"

"Shut up!" Rath immediately stood with clenched fists, his heart was beating madly and his eyes were beginning to burn. With each rapid pulse of his heart, the hole in his chest widened. It felt to him like he was arguing with a wall, that there was no hope in trying to make it agree with him, "You're a kind of Doctor aren't you?" He was yelling shakily now, "You study this crap all the time, can't you do anything!?"

Despite being faced with a barrage of negative emotions and the threat of an angered incubus, the grim Professor continued show no obvious emotion, he stared straight into Rath's angered eyes with the same stern glare.

"That was the whole point of the Wraith Project," He spoke in monotone, "To 'do something about it'. This Wraith, was indeed supposed to help me with my research but there was another purpose. You could say a 'personal favor' for the headmistress." The Professor huffed and cleared his throat, "Unlocking her memories was the goal and the Wraith achieved that goal to certain extent..."

"Wh-What!?" Rath clenched his teeth and his body shook. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, like he was listening to some crazy conspiracy that involved him and his friends. To Rath, it felt like the Professor planned for Desho to get hurt and for Faye to die.

"Relax child, this destru-...hmm," The Professor watched the shaking Rath and with a shake of his head, he re-phrased "This 'death' was far from what was planned...It was supposed to unlock her memories and just that, nothing else...However, it got out of control and now, one your closest friends is severely injured and you're losing the other...There was nothing you could have done, if you were with them, you would have been hurt as well for sure."

Unsatisfied with his explanation, Rath just shut eyes and calmed himself, he slowly sat back in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees. He held his head in his scaly paws, shaking and remaining silent. He felt like he was going to be sick and a kind of pressure seemed to build up in his head.

"...And the disappearing of the students around SAIA during the past month, I believe this is connected as well..." The Professor approached Rath and leaned over him, "Now about Desho...You know what is going on and you know how hard this next while is going to be for him; this could be weeks to even years, you need to help him. Help Desho get through in his injuries, let him know the truth, and help him let her go."

The professor turned away from him again, "He's got a long life ahead of him...Don't let this be the end of it. Promise me Rath, that you'll do the right thing."

Rath's mind was blank and his hands shook. He rubbed his face as his eyes burned and a tear dripped down his cheek. He sobbed lightly and sniffled sadly, another tear fell and he covered his face with another sob. "I...I...I promise." He sniffed and wiped his eyes, he tried to regain his composure and took a deep breath, "...I promise...I'll do it, I'll help Desho get over this...I'll help him say goodbye to Faye..."

"This is for the better, for his good." The Professor nodded and stepped away from Rath, approaching his desk and taking a seat behind it. "I leave this to you...Now go, I have a huge mess to sort out."

The lizard stood and wiped his eyes dry again. He coughed and nodded to the professor before he painfully exited the clinic. Sullen and hurt, he meandered through the halls, dragging his steps with spiteful regret that ran through his veins. He slowly wandered to the Incubus' Dorms to wait for Desho to awaken from his pain.

...In Desho's Room, the pained cat slept restlessly.

The dark haired cat rested on his side, with his head forcefully pressed against the pillow. His eyes were damp while he slept and his blankets were clawed and cut. He remained still while his pain slowly faded from his mind, soothed away by another presence.

A white furred paw floated above Desho's head. It was connected to the arm of a white cat name Faye. The lost girl sat beside his bed and read his dreams, her eye glowing with a ghostly haze. Her hand floated in a circle and her gaze darted all over Desho's dreams until she quietly gasped.

With the gasp, she pulled her hand away and her eyes faded back to a natural hue. She looked down to Desho with an apologetic stare and sniffed. He quietly watched him, her mind was calm but her heart wrenched with sorrow and regret. She quietly watched over him

"...So, you're the same as me...You have a secret that you want to forget yet you're forced to endure its torment. I didn't know... So this is why you never talk about your parents or how you came here to SAIA. Fa'lina saved you from all of that."

She inched closer to Desho and her head hovered over his face, "So please Desho...Stop hurting yourself over it. Don't lose hope... I just know that your Mom and Dad would forgive you..."

"I guess that isn't the only thing that's hurting you is it? No, it's just a small problem to you. It's me... You hate yourself because of me, over my pain. Well Desho, I hurt because you hurt...I just want you to be happy. And I wish I could say that to you when you wake up but... I just won't be able to."

Faye's eyes watered up, she leaned back and held herself weakly. "I...I-I have to go away now." She looked to the floor. "...My past is calling for me... a-and I can't stay with you..." She looked back to him and she rubbed her eyes dry, "You... m-made me so happy ...Desho... I'm sorry..." She leaned over him again and lowered her head to his face. She looked down to his sleeping eyes twitching restlessly.

A tear fell from her eyes and landed on his cheek. Faye closed her eyes gently pressed her lips to his. She gave him her last kiss...

"...Goodbye."

...Inside Desho's dream, the sullen, burned, and decayed landscape creaked and ached like a rotting ship and Desho was locked alone in a flooded room holding his knees in a fetal pose.

"So, you just you keep hurting yourself over it? What a fool, but on the other paw, I know you, just every ounce of you. The sorrow and desolation that is your heart, bringing others down with you, you're scum, kid."

"Shut Up!" Shouted Desho, "You don't know a damn thing about me!"

"Oh please, get over yourself. You know I'm right, you wish that everyone would go away...You thought the same about your parents right?"

"I...dammit..." He shook his head, "...If everyone was gone, then there would be no one for me to hurt..."

"Well that's one way of looking at it, a pathetic way, but a view nonetheless. And what if everyone went away, think you could live without Faye? You really like her eh?"

"...." Desho rubbed his forehead and sighed, "I...don't know...Maybe? But there has to be a better way...Maybe I can change things, save her from whatever ails her....I want to save her..."

"Well, whatever you think you can change...Now's your chance to promise her. Go promise her over there."

Desho ears perked up, "What do you mean?" He stood, his feet and rear soaked with the flooded water, he looked around desperately, searching the dark void surrounding him. In the distance, he a saw a bright figure. "Faye?" He leaned to it, like if as if he were hoping he'd just float to it. Instead, he tripped over his own feet and splashed into cold and dirty water.

A soft voice echoed around him, "...Goodbye."

"Wait!" He looked up, a pillar of light in the place of the white figure. He rushed to his feet and ran as fast as he could. In a matter of seconds, he was at the conical light; there was no one waiting for him. He huffed and watched the now smooth ground, a white feather rested silently.

The black cat kneeled down and held the white feather in his paw. He looked up to the light, "Don't go." He whispered..."Don't go..." Desho muttered as he stirred from his slumber.

He was staring at the green ceiling, his eyes were watery and his head felt hallow. Slowly leaning forward, he rested his back against the wall and watched the darkly lit room. He looked around and clenched his fist, a soft 'snap' emitted from his right paw. He looked down and saw a feather clasped in his fist. He raised it in front of himself and opened his paw; the feather was snapped in half.

He gently held it and looked at his door, it was closed and locked. He felt like as if a dagger had pierced his chest and his cheeks were burning. He was hurt, empty, and lost... He bit his lip and shook his head. He held his the broken feather to his chest and he called out, "Faye..."

***

To be Continued...

***

Author's Comments:

This is a fan fiction of a wonderful webcomic known as Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures aka DMFA. It was created by Amber Panyko aka MissMab. The settings of SAIA, Furrea and the Cubi concept in general were all created by her. [www.missmab.com]

The only Orginal characters in this story are the characters, Desho, Faye, Rath.

It's been a while but here is Chapter six of Promise. It looks like the second half of this story is off to a heavy start. Lets see where it goes.

I hope you like it

Critique Appreciated.