FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Raven Wolf - The Warriors - Chapter Nine

Yula is pacing back and forth in front of the hut of the chieftains family, he impatiently waiting for Shiya to return.

Achak calls out to him as he bounds up next to him, traveling on all fours as usual. "Hey! I found him, he was up in some trees gathering some medicinal ingredients."

Yula looks from Achak and over to Shiya, he quickly running over to him. "Finally! I was so worried that I was going to forget everything or something like that!"

Shiya smiles back at him. "Sorry."

He enters his hut Yula following him in side, stopping for a moment to look back to Achak. "Thanks for finding him for me."

Achak smiles back at him it not a problem at all. "Don't worry about thanking me, you just go tell him your important vision before you forget." He turns away heading back toward his own home ready to get back to his work.

Shiya sits down in the middle of the hut, Yula sitting down across from him and immediately getting right to the vision. "The vision I had, everything was so hard to see, like I was in a fog, so it was a vision of the future."

Shiya frowns this indeed important then, visions of the future always warnings. "Alright then, what is it?"

Yula begins to explain. "There were warriors everywhere, so many of them it was crazy, and you were watching them fight one another. It wasn't a war or a real battle, it was kind of like... a show or a display."

Shiya is concerned, that without a doubt referring to Iuana's upcoming suitor's trials. "What happens at Iuana's trials?"

Yula shakes his head, everything so confusing. "There is a bright flash of light, and then there's more fighting, not like before though... like a real battle. Then the warriors all start to disappear, Kitchi, Hasson, Teddy, even wilds without the mark of Raven Wolf, one by one they just vanish."

Shiya seems confused. "Vanish...?"

Yula nods his head yes. "Yeah... just vanished and were gone... not hurt, not killed, not anything... they just disappear... until everyone is gone."

Shiya is just as perplexed as Yula is over this vision. "How strange..." He places his hand on his chin as he tries to think it over. Clearly something was going to happen at Iuana's trials, but what the vanishing might signify he didn't understand. "They just... disappear?"

"Yeah... everyone just disappears."

*******

Dolly is sitting down in front of her computer, she hesitating for a moment before putting the small card she had been holding into it and opening it to look at the files that are inside, a curious expression filling her face as she begins reading one of the files over. "True Blood military Super Solder project."

She opens the file looking it over, it being a list of various numbers and information regarding the project. "How did she possibly-" she turns away from the computer to the door of her room, as if expecting someone to just burst through at any moment because she was looking at this information. She looks back to her monitor continuing to read, it a very long list of batches and numbers, with the message -TERMINATED- listed by each of the numbers. This coinciding with what Fitz and Zack had been discussing at the museum. "These are the Super Soldier documentation files."

She stops scrolling through the screen, when a label next to the label 'Batch 0031 #74' reads -unaccounted- instead of the usual terminated, Dolly opening the file for more information, a rather surprised look filling her face. "That's Swartz." She stares at the photo of Kane Swartz, he the tiger that she had so recently met, he younger in this photo than when she had met him today, but there no doubt that it was him. She begins to read through the file, it being a complete project bio on him. "Reason for termination, Subjects of batch 0031 would freeze both mentally and physically when faced with a target large than them."

Dolly frowns that sounding very odd, she returning to the previous window and continuing to go down the list until she finds another unaccounted label, this one for batch 0548 #66, she opening it and being presented with another familiar picture, this one of the black cat that was always busy at work entering codes into computers. "That's Vann Berights." She begins reading through his file as well, soon finding his reason for termination. "Out of date intelligence model with poor combat capabilities."

She continues to go down the list finding another familiar face under the label 'Batch 1033 #18' this one being Chase Lockheart, the mink that was also on her team. His reason for termination reading 'always fatigued'

She leans back in her chair, this information incredible, if she kept looking Dolly had no doubt that she would find the rest of the super soldiers in this file as well. She looks to the door of her room wondering if she should tell Zack of this find, a realization then hitting her. Zack had to be somewhere on this list, she continues to go through it, her curiosity getting the better of her, clicking on each number that had the -unaccounted- label next it to.

Batch 1217 #49, a brown female mouse and so far the only one that Dolly did not recognize, her reason for termination being due to her batch having a very slow regeneration process.

Batch 1286 #02, without a doubt that was Alistair Quincy, the photo of the subject in question not only looking exactly like him, but having the same rude smirk on his face Alistair always seemed to carry. Alistair's reason for termination being that he was excessively violent toward both the enemy and comrades and was therefore labelled as dangerous.

Batch 1342 #11, Dolly stares at the picture, this the girl that looked exactly like Zack that was currently with the Raven Wolf tribe. Not far under her number was 1342 #26, there no question over who this one was. "Zack..." She looks the numbers over, their batch number being the same. "That must be why they look so alike."

Zack and Eleven were both young in their photos, and had only been fourteen years old when they had been terminated, the reason his batch had been terminated. "Cannot kill target if target is a child."

There is a knock on Dolly's bedroom door, Dolly almost screaming in surprise as she jumps in her chair, quickly looking back to her door, responding in a flustered and angered voice. "What do you want Magellan!?"

Zack seems offended to have her snap at him. "What are you so angry about?"

Dolly turns off her computer, walking over to the door of her room and opening it. "I'm not angry about anything you just startled me is all. Now what do you want?"

Zack grins at her. "I was hungry so-"

Dolly groans closing the door on him, she should have expected it would have been something unimportant and stupid like that. "Why do you insist on annoying me Magellan?"

Zack opens the door to her room peeking his head inside. "Come on, you didn't let me finish." Dolly sits down on her bed staring back at him with her arms crossed, Zack continuing what he had originally wanted to say. "I meant to say that, I was hungry so I made something for us to eat."

Dolly frowns thinking this over, this defiantly unexpected, Zack never doing something like this before. "You cooked?" Zack nods his head yes, Dolly getting to her feet and walking up to him. "You actually cooked something?"

Zack shrugs his shoulders. "Well I wouldn't really call it cooking, more warmed up food on the stove. You know, one of those cans of soup you have."

Dolly places her hands on her hips. "You know I never thought of you as the type that could do that. You being the uptight military soldier and all, honestly I thought the only thing you were good at was firing a gun."

Zack frowns at the comment while watching Dolly leave the room. "I'll have you know that there's plenty I'm good at."

*******

Teddy looks up from his meal, he staring at Tahki from across the setting of food he had been eating at, his host having surprised him. "You what?"

Achak begins to laugh at Teddy's shocked response. "You look so surprised, honestly you must have expected this."

Tahki sighs as she puts her food down, she repeating to Teddy what she had told him only seconds ago. "I believe that there is no more for you to gain through training, you are ready to become a warrior."

Teddy continues to stare at her, that having been what he had thought she had said. "I honestly thought you were going to keep me a trainee forever because of how much you dislike me."

Achak tries to hold back a snicker, but ends up laughing anyway, Tahki frowning as she looks over to her husband a little annoyed. "Stop that."

She looks back to Teddy once Achak has finished. "My like or dislike for someone is not the deciding factors in becoming a warrior. Your skills are what distinguish that."

Teddy puts his food down something not right. "If skills are all that matter then what about Iuana? Why isn't she a warrior?"

Tahki frowns, the reason for that being quit clear. "It is not just me that denies Iuana of this request, all the lead warriors before me decided the same. Iuana is the chieftain's daughter, as so she is not meant to fight. How she expected my decision to be different from any of my predecessors I will never understand."

Achak speaks up, he pretty excited over the news. "We should hold your warrior's ceremony soon! Iuana will be so excited to hear that you're now going to be a warrior!"

Tahki frowns as she sits back letting out a sigh. "Will the ceremony even be able to take place? Teddy still does not carry the mark of Raven Wolf, so he's not yet a member of the tribe."

Achak looks back to Tahki. "Shiya said that he would be attending to that tonight. He's going to meet with the former chieftain of Whistling Wind, to ask him permission to take Teddy in."

Teddy turns back to Achak, a little surprised to hear this. "It sounds like he's going through a lot of trouble on my behalf."

Achak nods his head as he looks back to Teddy. "You have done much for Shiya, you brought both Yula and Iuana back home to him, and helped him return Kit safely to his parents and save his people from what would have been a losing battle against the military. So of course he would go out of his way to repay you for these deeds."

Tahki lets out a sigh, what Achak had said reminding her of the reality of the situation. "The domestic military isn't finished with us yet. It's true that the force they can use against us will be significantly reduced, but Shiya is still their target. They're not going to give up until they have him."

Teddy looks from Achak to Tahki, this fact still a mystery to him. "If you don't mind me asking, why does the military want Shiya so badly?"

Tahki looks back to Teddy as she shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know... Shiya has never really explained why they might be after him."

Achak nods his head, even he being as close as he was to Shiya didn't really know. "As casual as Shiya may seem there are still some things that he keeps to himself." He looks back to Teddy, he do knowing a bit more in the subject though. "If anything it must have something to do with Shiya's unique skills."

Teddy nods his head, that would defiantly be the first thing to would come to mind. "What gives him his unique skills exactly? When did he start doing them?"

Achak shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know what causes him to be able to control the ice like that, he's always been able to do it since the first day I met him, I do remember asking him a long time ago if it was something he was born with, and he said that it was not. From all the questions I've asked him on it that's the only answer I've managed to get out of him."

Tahki clears her throat getting back to what she had original announced to Teddy about him becoming a warrior. "There is still one thing that must be done before you can receive your warrior's ceremony. You must accompany our chieftain when he leaves the village and protect him from harm, to prove to the chieftain that you are ready to be a warrior."

Teddy seems confused, he having accompanied Shiya outside of the village before. "Shiya knows that I am a warrior, and I've gone on missions with him before."

Achak looks over to Teddy no one doubting his abilities. "Don't worry about it, it's more a formality than anything else. You most likely won't even have to do anything! Just be there to show that you're willing to protect him should harm come his way."

Teddy nods his head in understanding, he even though avoiding much when it came to wild traditions as a kid, still knew that there were things that needed to be followed when it came to them. "Alright then, so when do I go?"

Tahki speaks up, the opportunity practically upon them. "Tonight." Teddy looks back to Tahki as she begins to explain. "Achak already mentioned it, that both the chieftain and Iuana leave the village tonight to speak with the former chieftain of Whistling Wind." She looks Teddy over, adding something else. "I have never offered to do this before, but if you wish to do this another time I will make an acceptation."

Teddy seems confused. "Why would I have a problem with doing it now?"

Tahki begins to explain, Teddy perhaps overlooking something. "Requesting to take a member from one tribe into another is not something that is lightly done. The first warriors of each tribe will be there should the confrontation turn sour, you know what that means don't you?"

Teddy frowns having forgotten about that until now, he knowing exactly who the first warrior of the Whistling Wind tribe happened to be. "I see... the first warrior for Whistling Wind is my father..." He sighs, a confrontation with his father not something he expected would go well, his father after all having told him to stay away from Raven Wolf and have as little to do with it as possible. Still though, regardless if he met him at this time or not, he would eventually have to face him on it. "It's fine... I'm bound to confront him someday on this, better sooner than later."

*******

Eve goes through walls of books, mountains of papers and countless pages on the internet looking for any information that might give her clue to the supposed weapon that the Eden of North was said to have.

Eve's father walks into the room looking over at her. "Are you still at this?"

Eve nods her head, this important for her to figure out. "Of course I am." She looks back to her father. "Fitz hasn't come out of his room yet has he?"

Her father shakes his head no. "No, he's still in there. I wonder why he's so upset?" He turns around leaving the room and heading to bed, it already very late in the night. "Remember to turn off the lights when you're done.

Eve lets out a tired yawn. "Of course dad." She continues her search as she begins to organize the notes she had made during her searching. For a while now she had been devoting herself to this study, she beginning to lose track of just how many long nights she had pulled because of it.

A few minutes later someone else enters the room Eve is in, Fitz letting out a yawn as he stands in the doorway. "Your dad said that you wanted to see me?"

Eve looks from her work and over to Fitz. "What? No... I was just asking him if you had come out of your room yet... I guess he thought I was waiting for you or something."

Fitz groans. "I swear sometimes I just want to kick him..."

Eve looks back to him speaking up and stopping him before he leaves. "I found some similarities you know."

Fitz frowns looking back to her. "What?"

Eve looks back to her notes as she begins to explain. "Villages with a story and history similar to the one the Eden of North has. Where strange looking visitors would come to the village asking them to help locate a power or 'source' and then the village would suddenly meet its end in some kind of natural disaster."

Fitz looks back to her this indeed interesting, he walking up to the table that she worked at and looking through her notes, Eve continuing to explain what she had learned. "The village of Malbo, strange looking visitors came to them, asking for help to locate a power source, the village agrees to help and are granted with knowledge. Then the village is destroyed in a fire. The village of Harlquine, same thing happens, but they're destroyed in an Earth Quake. Then there's another that's destroyed in a flood, and another by a tornado."

Fitz looks from her notes and back to her. "These strange looking visitors really seem to run into trouble wherever they go."

Eve continues there more. "All the stories start out exactly the same, strange looking visitors approach tribes of wilds looking for a power source. But try looking up something like power sources and you'll come up with all kinds of things. I swear lore on stuff like that is endless, I was just about to give up when I found one that caught my attention. Something referred to as 'The Six Sources" She picks up a stack of papers she had printed out handing them to Fitz. "Supposedly they are six elements that govern the earth, Ice and Fire, which represent destruction and the end, Lightening and Earth, which represents power and assistance to man, and Water and Wind, which represent life and renewal."

Fitz looks back to Eve, it clicking in why she had found this to be related. "A blizzard, a fire, an earth quake, flood and tornado... ice, fire, earth, water and wind..."

Eve nods her head. "That drawing you took a photo of, the one with the crystal representing a power source, I don't think it's a crystal at all, it's hieroglyphic representing ice. The power they had found was the ice source of the Six Sources, and through a chosen one 'Shiya', were able to control it, but then something happened and he lost control, destroying the Eden of North."

Fitz frowns as he looks back to Eve. "Are you saying that there are others like him? Chosen ones that were able to control the sources, and then destroyed their villages with that power?"

Eve nods her head. "At least four more anyway... I was never able to find anything that could relate to the lightning element."

Fitz seems confused. "But why would they destroy their homes?"

Eve crosses her arms. "I don't think they ever meant to... these visitors that are present in each story... there's never any signs or clues of them in the remains of the village, or hints of them in the history, meaning that when those places were destroyed the strange looking visitors never suffered casualties. Somehow these visitors used the power to destroy those places after they were done with them, most likely with a weapon made to harness the power of the sources, which would account to the strange questioning Iuana received from the military."

She sighs to herself. "Of course at the moment these are all just assumptions... I don't have any real proof to confirm anything. Maybe if I confronted Shiya on it I might get something from him, but reaching him isn't exactly the easiest thing to do."

Fitz thinks over everything that Eve has said. "Strange looking visitors..."

*******

Dolly looks over to Zack, he as usual staring at the television watching another program. "You sure watch a lot of TV."

Zack groans as he looks back to her. "Your home doesn't really give me a lot of options when it comes to entertainment. I can either watch TV, or sleep."

Dolly lets out a yawn as she starts heading towards her room. "Well I'm going to bed, remember to turn off the lights when you're done."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Dolly retreats to her room, but instead of going to bed like she had told Zack she was going to do she goes to her computer, starting it up and once again exploring the files that were on the strange card she had received, there all kinds of information on it, not just of the super soldiers but of all kinds of top secret projects the military was working on. Dolly skimming through them to try and locate the answer she was looking for, why the military was after Raven Wolf's leader.

After looking through what could have possibly been hundreds of project files she finally finds something, the original order for the military to capture him. "DNA samples are matching, capture alive, needed for information regarding the use and missing power source of weapon found in the Eden of North." Dolly is confused, she having never heard of anything like this "Weapon found in the Eden of North?"

She begins to look through the files for information on this subject, eventually finding this too. She is about to start reading when the doorbell to her house rings. Dolly sighing as she leaves her computer to go and answer it, Zack practically refusing to answer the door anymore after what had happened the last time he did.

Dolly looks through the peephole on her door, a look that was both surprised and nervous filling her face as she opens the door, Vaan Berights and Chase Lockheart the ones standing on the other side. "Berights, Lockheart, what are you doing here?" She watches them enter, as silly as it sounded she was a little paranoid that they might had found out that she was reading over military information she wasn't supposed to be getting.

Vaan frowns he clearly not happy to be here. "We're just visiting."

Dolly is confused. "Visiting?"

Chase lets out a tired yawn as he raises his hand waving over to Zack. "Hey Magellan!"

Zack turns away from the television as he looks back to him. "Lockheart, what are you doing here?"

Chase grins as he sits down on the coffee table in front of Zack. "I came to visit you to see how you've been holding out. It's been different at the labs without you around."

Vaan grumbles to himself not sure how Chase would even realize that anything was different. "You sleep every hour of the day, how you where you even able to notice he was gone."

Chase frowns as he looks back to Vaan. "I'm not asleep all the time." He lets out another yawn almost nodding off, he looking back to Zack. "So what's it like living outside the laboratory?"

Zack shrugs his shoulders, it really not exciting at all. "Boring, I'm under house arrest remember? It's practically no different from being locked in a room all day."

Dolly looks from Zack and Chase back to Vaan. "You two are close to Magellan?"

Vaan shakes his head no. "Lockheart likes him, I don't. I'm just the unlucky sap that got stuck with Lockheart as a partner and had to drive him here so that he could visit."

Dolly seems confused. "Why would he need you to chaperone him around?"

Vann holds his hand out to Chase who was falling asleep while trying to talk to Zack. "Does it honestly look like he could drive, or for a matter of fact get anywhere on his own? That guy couldn't stay awake if his life depended on it."

Zack sits up as he moves closer to Chase when he realizes that he had fallen asleep sitting up while talking to him, this apparently a normal occurrence as Zack doesn't look surprised or insulted in the least, he just lifting his hand next to the mink's ear and snapping his fingers, the sound startling him back awake, Chase continuing with the conversation he had fallen asleep during. "General Mort is really grumpy since you've been gone. Of course he's a lot better than he was when you were in jail."

Zack seems surprised to hear this. "Really? And here I thought that he was too serious about work to really care."

Chase laughs at the comment. "Well Quincy calls you 'General's Little Pet' for a reason you know."

Vaan makes his way to the kitchen table, sitting down and setting a laptop down on it, Dolly frowning as she watches him set up. "Sure... just make yourself at home why don't you."

Vaan looks back to her as he waits for his computer to start up. "Unlike Magellan and Lockheart I have work to do."

Chase nods his head Vaan always working hard on his computers. "Berights is having a very hard time with that hacker, no matter what he does they always manage to stay ahead of him."

Dolly looks back to Vaan as he immediately gets to work, she recalling that the file on him that she had so recently read had labelled him as an intelligence model of Super Solider.

Chase lets out another yawn as he starts to drift off, Zack snapping his fingers by his ear and startling him awake again.

Dolly sits down on the sofa next to Zack, she staring at Chase as she begins to question him. "Why are you always so tired? You were practically doing the same thing today when I met you earlier."

Chase lets out another yawn as he looks back to her. "I can't help it, I'm just always tired."

Zack looks over to Dolly as he holds his hand out to Chase. "I know you were introduced to him today already, but this is Chase Lockhart, and despite what it looks like he's actually the holder of all the best scores of everyone on the team."

Dolly is surprised to hear this, she would have never expected anything like that from the sleepy mink. "Really? This is the guy that's able to score higher than you on your accuracy tests and all that?"

Chase nods his head fondly, he very proud of his accomplishments. "It's not just the accuracy tests, everything. Endurance, combat, practicality, you name it and I've aced it. I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging but I am quite proud of it you know." He lets out another tired yawn drifting off to sleep, Zack again waking him up by snapping his fingers, Chase continuing where he had left off. "It's just this sleeping business. I'm just so tired all the time and I'm always falling asleep."

Dolly seems confused. "If you're always falling asleep then how are you any good at missions?"

Chase smiles at her happy to explain. "There are two ways the military uses to keep me awake during missions. The first is some kind of injection they give me, I have no idea what's it in but it wakes me right up and keeps me that way for a few good hours. Then for backup I wear a small electrical device that will wake me up with a small electric shock should I happen to fall asleep. They're not the ideal solutions but at least they work."

He lets out another tired yawn almost drifting off again. "It's too bad that they don't have anything for me outside of my tests and missions. It would be nice to be able to hold a conversation without drifting off to dream land."

Dolly thinks this over, there a few methods of her own that she would use if she was falling asleep when she needed to be awake. "Have you tried coffee or energy drinks? They usually help me out."

Vaan lets out a laugh from the spot he had set up for himself to work at. "I doubt that something like that is going to work for him."

Fifteen minutes later Chase is laughing uncontrollably while holding a near empty energy drink can in his hand, the speed in which he talked and the amount of talking he was doing greatly increased from what it had been not that long ago. "When I heard that you were in jail I couldn't believe it! I mean you out of all people missing a target that's just unfathomable! You have the second best accuracy scores out of all of us and the gap between you and me isn't very large at all, so I was very surprised when I got the news, it just didn't make sense you know. Quincy though was positively amused by the idea, of course the two of you don't get along anyway so I guess his reaction is completely expected-"

Vaan lets out an aggravated groan, he having a very hard time concentrating on his work with Chase babbling like that. "You know I didn't think I could possibly despise having you as my partner anymore than I already did! But you've managed to prove me wrong!"

Chase looks back over to Vaan. "Just give yourself some time, you'll learn to love me I'm sure." He finishes off the energy drink he was holding turning back to Dolly and questioning her about it. "Do you have any more of these?"

Dolly laughs as she shakes her head no. "Unfortunately that's the only one that I had. If you give me warning for the next time you come over though I'll be happy to stock up in advance."

Vaan growls at the idea obviously none too happy about it, Chase though seeming pretty happy. "Wow really? You're absolutely great do you know that?" He looks over to Zack. "Your partner is really swell, you sure are lucky to have her. Why I'd trade Berights for her in a heartbeat and I like being partnered with him just fine!"

Zack shakes his head. "You can keep grumpy old Berights, he's way too serious for me to stand being around for too long. Besides I gotta admit, I've gotten pretty used to having Conner as my partner."

Dolly looks the two of them over with a smile. "Honestly you two I'm flattered to find out I'm so popular with the both of you."

Chase grins at her. "You know I wasn't really sure of you at first, not to sound like I'm being rude but you're a wild right? So I have to admit that I was actually kind of scared of you when I first saw you, I mean wilds don't have a very good reputation among domestics or the military and I really didn't know any better then what I had been told, but you're actually a really great and nice person. I think that I've been greatly misinformed about wilds."

Dolly nods her head. "Well to be perfectly honest I was pretty apprehensive when I met all of you. I mean I thought all Super Soldiers were serious and completely focused on work."

Vaan stops his work as he looks back at her, Dolly quickly realizing what she had done wrong, that fact supposed to be a military secret, Chase though doesn't seem the least bit bothered to find out that she knows. "So you found out about that did you? Well I guess it would be hard not to tell right, what with the clear and distinct labels we have in the form of number tattoos inside our ears." He laughs at the comment she had made earlier. "You're right about us Super Soldiers being all serious and work focused, it's programmed into our DNA so we really can't help it, though if you ask me Berights and Swartz are the worst for it." He smiles at Dolly. "We may have been made in a laboratory but we're still people, we have differing personalities just like anyone else would."

Vaan speaks up, he beginning to question Dolly. "So how did you find out about us anyway?" He looks over to Zack. "Did Magellan tell you?"

Zack frowns it not having been him. "She asked me plenty of times about it but I never confirmed anything, she came up with the conclusion on her own. It's honestly not that hard with all the rumours going around the base about us."

Chase seems surprised to hear this. "There are rumours around the base about us?"

Zack nods his head as he looks back to Chase. "Of course you wouldn't have heard any of them, you're asleep all day."