FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Chloe?" Mitch asked, concerned.

I looked around, surprised.

"I'm alright," I replied.

"Ok, back to my original question, what the hell just happened? And who was that?"

"That was Freyja, what you could call my guardian spirit,"

Mitch still looked confused, but when I refused to elaborate further, he gave up.

I glanced around the room, and saw Nik, resting in an armchair, looking exhausted.

"Nik,"

He looked up.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks,"

He nodded.

"Sure, anytime," he replied, tiredly, before dropping off to sleep.

I yawned loudly.

"Looks like someone could use an early night," Sally observed.

"Mmm, sounds like a good idea,"

And with that, I walked over to my bedroom, and almost literally collapsed into the bed.

That night, my dreams were a confusing jumble of sounds, sights and smells, all flashing by so rapidly, it was impossible to remember them. It soon settled out, however, and I found myself in a large hallway, illuminated by torches, and with strange glyphs carved on the walls. A loud crashing sound made me jump, and I turned to see a large, acid green dragon approach me.

"Freyja!" I called out with my mind.

The dragon skidded to a stop several feet in front of me.

It cocked its head to one side.

"Yes?"

My heart almost stopped right there.

"Is that really you?" I asked, shocked.

"Yes, this is my true form,"

"B-but you're a dragon!"

"And?"

I groaned. Obviously her odd sense of humour hadn't disappeared.

"When you think about it, I am the dragon goddess of protection, so it makes sense,"

If I thought it was impossible to surprise me any more today, I was proven wrong right there and then.

Freyja slowly walked the rest of the way towards me, and laid down beside me.

"Is that alright?"

"Well, would it make any difference?"

She chuckled deep in her throat.

"Not really,"

Freyja looked around herself, curiously.

"You know, it's been ages since I've been able to return to my true form. You don't really seem that surprised about it," she added.

I shrugged.

There was a muffled boom, followed by a torrential downpour of dust.

"Freyja, where are we?"

"We are below the desert region of Comoros, your home planet,"

There was another explosion, followed by another shower of dust.

A loud shrieking sound came from above me, and I looked up in time to see a large chunk of rock flying down towards me, then nothing.

I awoke with a shout, covered in sweat.

"It's alright, little one," Freyja said, comfortingly, "Everything's alright now,"

Safe in the knowledge that she was there, I slowly drifted back off to sleep, a sleep with no dreams, a sleep so deep, it felt like I was completely and utterly alone, apart from the guarding eye of Freyja.

Late the next morning, I woke up, completely relaxed and refreshed.

I heard a yawn in my mind.

"Morning, little one," Freyja said.

"Would you stop calling me that?" I asked her, exasperated, "I'm not little!"

"You are compared to me," she replied smoothly, and correctly.

I sighed.

I walked into the kitchen to find it was completely deserted. All that was left was a note lying on the bench, scrawled in Mitch's untidy handwriting.

Dear Chloe,

If you're awake, good, and I'll be back at around ten.

I stopped reading, and glanced at the clock.

It read noon.

I continued reading, growing more concerned by the minute.

Krystal, Sally, Eifie and I have gone back to the Shadow Realm to do some recon.

If we aren't back at midnight, get help. If you can't find any, try to contact us.

Mitch

I sighed; obviously Mitch hadn't remembered the time difference.

Nevertheless, I did as he asked, and waited.

I spent the time reading up on the various powers that Eevees and their evolutions had. It couldn't hurt to be prepared, now could it?

I went looking for Nik at the stroke of midnight. I didn't find him, and assumed that he went with the others.

I went back home, and thought about how I could contact them, when I had a brainwave.

I walked back into the living room, and set to work creating a portal to the Shadow Realm.

When Freyja noticed what I was doing, she let out a yelp of fear.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"What does it look like?"

As I spoke, the portal opened, and a wave of inexplicable terror rolled over me.

I shook it off, and proceeded to sweep around the other end of the portal for Mitch.

"Chloe?" I heard Mitch ask, confused.

"It's half-past midnight, and you asked me to contact you..."

"Yes, well, we've run into a slight snag,"

I groaned.

"Let me guess, you can't get out?"

"Yes,"

"Wait a sec, how are we even talking? Time's so slow over there,"

"In a minute. And where's the portal? I can't see it anywhere,"

"It's in the same place that it was when you got me,"

"Careful" Freyja cautioned, "We don't know if it's really them,"

"Wait, who was that?" Mitch asked suddenly.

I immediately stiffened, and I heard Freyja yell in terror.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Close the portal! NOW!"

I didn't need to be told twice, and immediately collapsed the portal.

Strangely though, the link to whatever was impersonating Mitch was still there. I used that connection to search out the real Mitch, and found him a couple of (what I could only hope were) kilometres away.

As soon as I touched his mind, an impenetrable barrier rose around it, and it was like trying to grasp a polished granite orb coated in oil. I searched around Mitch, and tried to contact Krystal instead, knowing that it was probably her doing it. As soon as my mind touched hers, however, I felt the walls around Mitch's mind drop, and I heard Krystal's voice in my mind.

"What the- Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, thank god! We've been trapped in here for days now!"

"Huh? It's only been a couple of hours here though. Last time, it took a month over here for even an hour to pass over there," I noted, confused.

"Oh, never mind! We need your help!"

I heard, what could only be likened to, interference, and suddenly the connection cut out.

I started to make another portal, this time to where they were, but Freyja held me back.

"Are you forgetting what happens to us when we go in there?"

"No," I replied, "Which is why I'm going to do this,"

I started to chant words of power from the ancient Eevee dialect.

Simply put, it was a spell of binding, to keep me and Freyja from being torn apart again.

As I chanted, shimmering red rings of power appeared around me, and started to pulse in time with the incantation.

As I completed the spell, the rings pulsed with such intensity, it almost blinded me. The rings contracted, and within seconds, had sunk into my flesh, binding me and Freyja until the day we die.

"Ah, good idea," Freyja said.

I continued to work on the portal, and within seconds, a shimmering blue vortex opened in front of me.

"Are you sure about this?" Freyja asked, concerned, "I mean, really sure about this?"

"No, but that doesn't matter now,"

I stepped into the portal, and within seconds, found myself in a strangely familiar hallway.

"Freyja!" I called out.

I heard a weak groan.

"Still here. I think,"

"Isn't this-?"

I broke off, hearing something.

I reached over my back, and drew my swords.

"Wait!" Freyja whispered.

She said something under her breath, and no sooner than she finished, than a shadow guard walked around the corner of a nearby passageway.

I was surprised, then, when he walked right past me.

"What did you do?"

"I protected you from his sight,"

"You mean I'm invisible?"

"Only to him,"

I shook my head, and started to look for everyone.

In the third door I tried, I found them, huddled together on the ground, most of them with cuts, and I noticed that Eifie had a large gash across her chest, and both of her arms were covered in blood. Hopefully not hers.

Mitch looked up, and gave me a look of fear.

I saw he was looking over my shoulder...

I whirled around in time to block a heavy blow across the back of my neck, thrown by a large black dragon, the same sorta shape as Might Dragon (may he rot in hell!).

I took off, with a sorrowful glance at Mitch first, and fled down the corridor.

The dragon followed me, always staying within a couple of feet of me.

"Freyja! Can you do that hiding-me-from-someone's-sight thing again?"

"I can't," she screamed in frustration, "something's bl- wait a sec, what's that?"

"Huh? What's what?" I asked, while noticing a strange vortex of power coming from a couple of doors down.

I skidded to a stop, and ran into the room. I was greeted by the sight of a sandstone statue, a Valkyrie, wearing ornate armour, and brandishing twin swords. Identical to my ones...

I noticed two slots in the statue, and slid my swords into them.

There was a pulse of light, and I was somewhere completely different. Maybe even a different dimension, giving the feeling of terror that I felt had lifted.

I saw the same statue in front of me, this time in marble, and in front of that, its armour, coloured in a glorious, pure white.

I heard Freyja gasp.

"Th-that's Valkyrie armour!"

"What the hell is Valkyrie armour?"

She gave me a surprised look, which was quickly replaced by a look of realisation.

"Oh, sorry, I sorta forgot that you don't know much about your original planet's legends. Um, Valkyries are warrior-goddesses, basically. They were the keepers of peace, and it was said that their armour was impenetrable,"

"Sweet!" I exclaimed.

I walked over, and picked up one the chest piece, noticing that it was too big for me.

I shrugged, and pulled it over my head.

As it settled into place, I felt a curious sensation, and saw that the armour was morphing, changing to fit my body. As it did so, the other armour pieces floated off the ground, and fastened themselves onto my body, also changing shape to fit me.

Within seconds, I was covered in gleaming white armour, looking for all the world, like a goddess.

"Wow," Freyja exclaimed.

I looked around me.

"Yeah, wow,"

As I turned around, I saw a glowing blue portal open behind me.

I stepped into it, and as I did, I heard a ghostly voice reaching through ages long past...

"May you live long, fulfil your destiny, and may you be safe with the knowledge that I, the last of the Valkyries, watches over you,"

Then I was back in the room, with the dragon barging through the door.

"So, pretty armour you have there," he said, snidely.

I ignored him, and pulled out my swords from their scabbards. How they got there, I had no idea, but they were.

"What is your business here in the Shadow Realm?"

"Oh, this and that," I replied, evasively.

"Well, I don't think you'll mind leaving, then,"

"I'm afraid I can't do that,"

He drew a massive two-handed sword from behind his back, and brandished it at me.

"I insist,"

I sighed, and started to walk through the doorway, thankful that nothing else had happened.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach, and I looked down to see the tip of the sword poking through.

"Chloe!" Freyja yelled, as I slumped to the ground, blood pouring from the wound.

The dragon chuckled.

"You won't be getting up from that, this sword's been imbued with anti-magic, which nullifies any powers you might have. Which includes your really handy resurrection abilities. I'm afraid it's lights out for you,"

I started to feel dizzy from the blood loss, and my thoughts turned to Mitch. How I wished that I could have spent more time with him, and I wished that this wasn't the end of the line, for everything. And I especially wished that Mitch and I had taken the time to start a family.

I started sobbing uncontrollably, when I heard a voice coming from somewhere behind me.

Then I realised that I was lying on something soft, and that Mitch was somewhere behind me. And I wasn't bleeding. I pushed myself up, and found myself back home, lying on my bed, with Mitch sitting on a chair beside me.

"Freyja?" I asked in my mind.

"Mmph, yeah?" she replied with a groan.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Good question, one minute we were in the Shadow Realm, then we're back here,"

"Chloe?" Mitch asked, tentatively, "Are you alright?"

"Mitch, that's a damn good question,"

* * * * * *

Chloe, Freyja and Eifie are copyrighted to me, ChloeTheFirefox

Mitch, Krystal (his version), and Sally are copyrighted to SPAMZZKRR

Nik is copyrighted to Sonic Fox