FSE

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The finale to the story -- hope all who have kept with it enjoy the last bit --

The group sat, under the secrets that the trees held close in their canopy, the wind driving and whistling through them, giving an audio blanket, forbidding and fur perking their ears to hear outside of what they could see.The dawn was far from near, and for the moment, the shadows crept up the trees, choking away their majesty with its void, holding the suspense of the ensuing fight in the air.

Before Interloper had a moment to even take a look around, Toxis sprang into the circle.

"We're fucked." Toxis' words were overshadowed by his constant struggle to keep his consciousness straight, without falling over onto the ground and clutching his head.

"How many, Toxis?" Gerid wasn't even focused on the surroundings. He had crept inside of his head, preparing himself to fight, becoming sharp as a razor to the surroundings.

"I don't know. But the leaders of the angels -- its the twins." Usiku nor Interloper changed facial expression upon the words. All others looked overly fearful, beyond doubt.

"What are the twins?" Usiku looked around the circle at all the companions, giving eachother nervous glances, encouraging one of them to speak up. Dravin finally took the initiative.

"The twins are -- well, they're to the Angels what the Angels are to us. They're rather well known among the Aerials for being able to kill everything they come across. Just -- if you see them, don't engage them. They're two Jackals -- they're why the 'Flying Jackals' are named as such. They won't be hard to miss. They wear very archaic clothes -- and use archaic weaponry. For that matter; all Angels and Heretics do." Dravin maneuvered his way through his own fear of the reputation of the twins in speaking.

"Usiku; just stay here. We have to wait until the heretics show. Once they show up, them and the angels will start fighting -- that will be our chance to get out of here." Nocturne looked up into the canopy, waiting for the Angels to appear to him.

The seven stood facing into the moon, all in a line, preparing for the storm to begin as they felt the wind scout through the trees, taking point for the coming Angels. Zak draped his arm to Gerid, who stood stoically staring into the eve, a desert eagle in his free paw.

Howls were heard -- this time, it wasn't the wind. It was the collective howls of hundreds, possibly thousands of creatures all flying high in the treeline, approaching in the dark. Nocturne curved his neck downward, as his eyes stayed fixed forward, whispering into a radio.

"Everyone. Angels from the south." Nocturne spoke too late, as gunfire was already heard in the distance. Flashes of light stroked through the distant trees, crawling forward with whimpers and yelps, howls of pain haunted down the cliffside and up, echoing all around the seven as they stood. The wind kicked higher, with every scream and shout, as death's looming scent invaded the lucidity of the night and played like a marimba up each of their backsides, notifying them of the grim reality.

Toxis snapped his head to the left of the crew. Gerid attentively looked at him, his mindset still on the approaching carnage. Toxis began to run off into the shadow of the western trees, away from the cliffside and into the dark. The attention of the remaining six soon dispersed as they noted Angels coming overhead, 20 or more high in the treeline in front of them, approaching fast. Some broke off and dove into the ground, speeding towards rounds of gunfire before driving themselves into the silhouettes of warriors and brawling against them.

The many that hovered above the six drew bows in the dark, firing off a volley of arrows that descended onto the six. Gerid and Zak pounced themselves backwards, as Gerid fired off his desert eagle at the Angels. Nocturne jumped to the left, swiftly batting his paw in front of him and knocking away an arrow headed directly toward his head. Dravin dodged his way effortlessly through arrows as he charged forward at many of the grounded Angels, pouncing at one and dissapearing into the fray of fighting. Usiku flapped his wings and drove the volley in his spot away from him; Interloper stood in his place, crouching down and blocking his body with his forearms, letting half a dozen arrows pierce his arms. Each of the six dispersed in their own way as many Angels descended upon them, Interloper took his focus from his pain and kicked into a tree, releasing the pain into the trunk and felling it. The swinging trunk fell into the forest, driving down into the swarm of angels, causing a few to be trapped while others were crushed under the weight. Soon after, Interloper acrobatically climbed and jumped his way up the trees and toward the many Angels still in the air.

Usiku poised himself in a crouch as he watched an Angel descend toward him headfirst. The Angel grabbed his blade from his belt and threw it toward the ground at Usiku, at which point Usiku quickly jumped out of the way and caught the handle in lightning reflex. Usiku prepared to strike the Angel as soon as it hit hte earth, but failed to catch a good glimpse of his face until he was close; the face of a Jackal.

The trees screamed out now, unable to keep in the secret. The secret of death hung overhead as the other of the Twin Jackals dove down to the earth undetected behind Usiku. Usiku did not notice, as his attention was fixed on the first twin.

The undetected Jackal landed and crouched, his sword drawn out as he readied to pounce at Usiku, to drive the blade into the hyena, to end the threat, to end all things. The Jackal sprang forward with his blade in front of him, with all the force that was within an Angel, and flew toward the unsuspecting hyena, until the blade stopped as it found its way through the heart of a fur.

Zak had seen, and had stepped in front of the blade as the Jackal sprang forth, pushing Usiku out of the way and letting the blade effortlessly puncture through his heart and out his back. The Jaguar took a shallow breath as the blood he coughed up spilled over the suprised Jackal. The Jackal quickly retracted his blade from Zak's chest, and turned his attention to Usiku's who's eyes were wide with a fearful suprise, then quickly sharp with a guilty rage. As Usiku flew at the Jackal and brawled, a heartbroken howl carried like brushfire into the night. Gerid screamed out in a haunting heartbroken cry, seeing the entire event unfold upon him.

"No, no, NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Gerid's screams sent the most powerful shiver into the night. Even the wind stopped blowing from the scream of the Lion as he rushed to the dying Jaguar, falling over onto him and holding him in his arms. His words were laced with desperate tears, his sobs collided with the anger and fear that welled within him out of the reality in front of him. Sentences deteriorated to his sobs and whimpers, he could hardly speak as he saw the tears in Zak's eyes while he was held.

"Baby, please -- I -- oh no, please, no -- you can't die!! Please... I can't breathe without you--" Gerid took Zak's paw in his own, feeling the Jaguar's grip weak as he held it, his eyelids draped atop his eyes as they slowly drew a curtain of black, of darkness into Zak's body. Zak tried to speak through the fading life, his weak coughs the only sound he could muster as he held weakly to Gerid. Gerid could no longer speak, and he cried as he pressed his muzzle against Zak's; the world immediately around the two a void, unable to affect their love, even for a moment. In that moment, Gerid watched as Zak's breathing retreated into his throat, his grip stopping completely as the motion of his chest ceased. Geird watched in fear as he saw the last speck of life leave his lover's eyes.

"N- no, you're not, you're not- Zak; Zak, stay with me...." Soon after, Gerid could no longer form words, and it became incoherent bawling as he cried and buried himself into Zak's neck.

As one of the twin Jackals moved their way toward Usiku, who was locked already in a brawl, Interloper flew from the treeline and tackled the Jackal to the ground. As he fought with the Jackal, his ears tried to shut away the cries of Gerid over Zak. He couldn't not for a moment let himself cry, not during this fighting. The moment crept into him and infected him -- he promised he would never let it happen again, but now it was too late. Tears blurred his vision as he fought; and for that moment, he ceased to fight.

The Jackal took the opportunity and drove his blade toward Interloper's belly. Interloper half batted the blade, but, unable to see properly, only deflected the blade into driving into his thigh. As the Jackal pressed the blade into Interloper's thigh he snarled as he looked at Interloper's tearful eyes, and soon became suprised as Interloper's eyes filled with a wispy white glow.

Interloper grabbed the Jackal's head, and kissed him, sucking the Jackal's life away as he let his pain drive into the Jackal's skull. The Jackal let go of the blade in a sudden suprise of feeling this mortal's unforseen power, protruding from Interloper's thigh and fell to the ground, stunned. Interloper fell back, and at this moment, pulled the blade from his leg and swiftly brought it down at the Jackal's neck. The Jackal grasped with Interloper's wrist, but as he looked up, soon found himself looking down the barrel of Dravin's rifle. The inevitable gunshot ensued, the barrel however was moved rapidly by one of the Jackal's paws, hitting him and scraping along his neck. He soon let a footpaw kick into Interloper's wounded thigh, causing Interloper to fall back from the blow, then suddenly bolted upright and into Dravin's chest, grabbing him and flying high into the treeline.

Usiku swung the blade in swift motions, attempting a strike at the other Jackal from every direction. The Jackal was swift as well, as he had dodged every attempt, but Usiku soon found capability for victory when he was able to make contact on one of the Jackal's elbows. The Jackal quickly retaliated by flapping his wings and pushing Usiku back, but he didn't let himself fall to the ground, instead pressing his footpaws off the ground and carrying into the air. Before he could get too high, he felt a paw wrap around his ankle and swing him into the trunk of a tree. He looked down to find A very large Tiger with serrations upon his paws had swung Usiku into the treeline, and as he looked down he saw many furs climbing out of the ground, some wrapping around Angels in the dark and pulling them down as they climbed up. The Tiger had himself in a position to pounce to Usiku, but soon a very large and very angry Lion, as well as a black dog jumped out of nowhere and tackled the Tiger.

"Usiku!! Get out of here! Now!" Gerid and Nocturne struggled and wrestled with the Tiger. Usiku looked around the forest for a moment, catching the one shimmer of a gold bracelet in the dark, shining from the pale guide of the moonlight. He bolted down and grabbed Interloper in the fray of gunfire and fighting, and, picking him up, flew toward the cliffside. Interloper complied and wrapped his paws around Usiku's neck. As they flew toward the cliff, a Jackal sprang up in front of them, cutting off their path. He snarled angrily and began to rush at them, but his approach was soon cut off as a bullet tore through his arm, sending him out of control. Usiku glanced back to notice Dravin had taken a moment to fire off a rifle round. Dravin waved for them to go before a paw came up from the ground and wrapped around his leg.

Usiku quickly flew to the cliffs, but his flight was cut short as a very stealthy bear, hanging from one of the overhead branches, kicked him in the head and knocked him out, sending him and Interloper spiraling down the maw of the cliff, rapidly as they fell into the mouth of the earth.

~~A lot of things can happen when the world bites. How hard do they bite until you bleed? How hard would they bite until you bite back?~~~~~

The two fell in eachother's arms, pulled down into the great maw of the earth, they fell together. Interloper grasped tightly to Usiku and cast his eyes into the great below, hoping to glimpse at some form of ground that would approach. There was no way they could survive this fall. As the void stretched, Interloper's thoughts raced on anything to save them -- he had to be swift in action, for the earth could rapidly swallow them up before he had time to move. He realized he may have the strength to slow their fall, but he needed pain to give him the power to do so. He quickly grasped a knife from Usiku's belt and drove it into his wounded thigh, sending the electric burn shooting up his leg and into his side, permeating through his fur like an invisible fire. Blood spit from the open wound into the dark air, and Interloper let himself take the pain in, clenching his teeth tightly and growling through them to help him get through it.

He looked downward and waited from any glimpse of ground in the dark. He had to make a cushioning strike to the ground while as they hit, or nothing would work. His eyes narrowed, the clas of the pain aroking their way up him and attempting to pull his eyes closed, he wouldn't listen, he had to hit this just right; nothing mattered to him right now other than this.

The moment came quickly, and had he not seen a sparkle emitted from the ground below he would not have timed it right. Just before they hit, he shot a burst of energy into the ground, slowing their fall and cushioning them just enough not to kill them -- however, when they hit the ground, it broke, shattered away, and they were plunged into a stinging, icy cold.

At the bottom of the cliff was a frozen river, held in place by the years of secrecy of many nights listening to the city above. Interloper held tightly to Usiku in the freezing darkness, the swift current dragging them from the refuge of any escape. Interloper felt Usiku's arms tighten around him as he realized the hyena had been awakened by the glacial surrounding. The hyena was quick -- he expanded his wings at an angle and pressed the two against the wall of the river, allowing them to grasp upon the jagged rocks. Interloper quickly pounded away at the frozen ceiling with his arms, eventually breaking the ice, he climbed out, quickly turning to pull Usiku from the river.

His paw clasped to Usiku's and Usiku's head surfaced when Interloper felt a gun barrel to the back of his neck.

"Just couldn't fucking let things go, could you, fox?" The voice.... it was Sage. Civet always was one step ahead of them....

"Drop the hyena... or I drop you."

Interloper looked into Usiku's eyes-- they both shivered, but he was quickly being drained of all body heat... he wouldnt be able to stay in the river much longer.

"Why, sage? Just let us go. Why do this?" Interloper growled lowly as he spoke. His form staggered through the cold, the wind rushed through the canyon and stripped away his heat quickly, the sting in his thigh emanating and dominating his senses.

"He has to be killed. Haha- you honestly thought you were just going to bounce away? Just let him go, Interloper. Walk away. I won't even hurt you.

"...you.... you were the one I kicked down the stairs." Interloper grew with more anger, Usiku's eyes burned with undeniable hate, through the deep freeze he was in.

"Whaddya want, a fucking pat on the back? Nice detective work! Now I'll ask you one more time, then I'm going to shoot you where you can't recover."

Usiku gave a slight innuendo for Interloper to let him go -- there was a look that told Interloper 'trust me' as he did so. Interloper sighed heavily, closing his eyes and letting a tear fall from his cheek. He released his grip on Usiku's paw, letting him slip under the ice and into the cold below.

"Perfect. It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Interloper. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a fight I need to attend to." Sage turned on his heels, walking into the dark, but Interloper was swift to pounce him as he did so. Interloper wrapped his arms to Sage's waist and drove them both onto the ice, cracking it heavily.

Sage quickly turned his gun around, but before he could fire, the ice broke around his head, and Usiku's paws shot up through it and grabbed him by the neck. The ice quickly cracked and broke under the two, Interloper shot himself backwards before it fell away. Sage dropped into the freezing cold with Usiku's paws still around his neck. The two wrestled under the dark of the water. Interloper hastily reached down and took a hold of one of Usiku's arms and pulled him again out of the water. Usiku complied and quickly released his grip on Sage, letting himself be dragged form the cold and onto the surface.

Usiku lay face up, shivering rapidly and clutching his arms around in his chest as he dripped off the river water. Interloper looked around of any place he could find for refuge, and in the dark he spotted and alcove hollowed into the cliffside. He took a step to it, pulling Usiku along, but before he could take a second, a bullet tore rapidly through the ice.

In an instant, gunfire was tearing through the surface of the ice all around, Interloper dragged Usiku along the ice as fast as he could into the alcove. The gunfire tore downstream along the ice as sage was whipped rapidly away by the river current.

Interloper fell to the earth next to Usiku. The chill took its arms and wrapped tightly into the two as it seeped under their fur, deep into their core. Interloper wrapped himself against Usiku, pulling Usiku's arms over him and hoping to conserve the fading heat as they huddled in the cold.

Neither could be sure how long they laid there, feeling every tingle, every shiver run up and down them, from pawtip to muzzle, they stood, waiting for the ebbing tides of death to inch inside, place its numb into them and steal them away -- but death would not come. They sat in a twilight between life and death as they held one another, souless, yet together for the moments, needing the other entirely to go on. It wasn't too much of an eternity in the cold, before dawn broke, first the lazy half light that crept in before the sunlight rode inside the mouth of the ravine.

Alertness began its autonomous reign as their ears randomly perked to various sounds echoing off the canyon walls. Usiku tried slowly to regain control of his numbed limbs, still ice cold as his torso was pressed against Interloper's. They awoke together, finding their paws in one anothers, pawtips interlocked together. Usiku managed to open his eyes as Interloper did, and for a minute they stared into eachothers eyes, forgetting where it was they were, forgetting about the running, the pain, the cold, every void, every trouble that plagued them -- for a minute, they found their hideaway in eachother's eyes.

They both brought themselves to their feet and looked up at the cliffside, it seemed a world away from them.

"Maybe we could just stay down here -- until the end of time..." Interloper was reluctant to climb back up to the cliffside. He could sense the fighting still happening far above him.

Usiku likewise wasn't fond of returning to it -- especially after so many fought to get him out. He couldn't stop thinking about everyone; especially Gerid and Zak.

"You know.... there's much more of a world beyond this cliff." Usiku turned his eyes to the adjacent cliff side. As he did so, Interloper wrapped his arms around Usiku's neck, facing him and holding him close.

"Let's find out..." Interloper held tight, and Usiku held Interloper as he kicked off and flew up the cliff.

Their ascension had a resemblance of rebirth to it as they flew, the new day's sun embraced them. As Usiku brought them to the top of the cliff, they landed on the adjacent side and looked across to the fighting. They turned together toward the forest, and began to walk away.

It was minutes into the walk, when a figure was in front of them, waiting for them. A large bear stood in their way, holding an M249 saw in his paws.

Deck locked eyes with Usiku and Interloper, taking a stance against them and preparing to take aim. He hesitated as Usiku and Interloper stood, staring back, worn from fighting for so long -- neither of them had it in them to fight any more. It seemed he had made up his mind -- close to pulling the trigger, but Dravin walked into sight as he aimed.

"Deck -- don't. Just let them go." Dravin stepped in front of Deck's gun, looking him in the eye.

"I really don't care if you shoot me, Deck. But don't you dare fucking shoot Usiku. Not after what happened. Not after everyone that died so he could live. Not after what happened to Zak. Deck -- I know you're upset he left you for Gerid.... but please.... don't make his death for nothing."

If you could look into Deck's eyes -- you'd be able to see a sickening summation of all of the enraged spirits of the world burning in a hellfire as they scream at you. He was hindered. Pulled back by what Dravin said; he lowered his gun and stepped aside.

"You better hurry up. It's not going to be long before they jump the cliff and come over here." Deck gave them a nod to move. Interloper began to take a step. As he did, Usiku took Interloper's paw firmly in his own, and walked with him. There were no words between them; there didn't need to be.

As they walked into the forest, an enthusiastic wolf bounded after them.

"Hey! Wait for the Wolf!" Dravin caught up to the two, stopping before practically crashing into them. They turned and gave Dravin a rather confused look.

Dravin gave them both a wink. The three continued into the forest, deep into nature, hiding between most of the pages of history. Every now and then, you'd be able to catch as they venture by -- not truly with or without a mortality, nor lost to the stories and words. Only longing to be found between the lines now and again.

~~Tahnk you infinitely everyone who stuck with the story until the end. I really do appreciate it