FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It started with a blue light. After four weeks of sleeping in what was essentially a massive metal coffin, the blue light hurt her eyes. She blinked multiple times, shut her eyes, then tried opening them again. It still hurt. She had been kept asleep by the spaceship's systems for the duration of her travel. She tried to open her eyes again as more lights began to flicker to light on the ship. Her sleep capsule began to run a diagnostic on her body, ensuring that there were no ill effects from her extended sleep. She heard the familiar beeps and whirs as gyros began to turn, scanners moving up and down her prone form.

When the scanners had finished, the system retracted the needles from black furred arms. The two in her light neck fur retracted next. It was supposed to be painless. She begged to differ. It hurt like hell every time, no matter how long she was put under. Fox flexed her fingers first, letting the blood move through them on her body's own power instead of a machine's. She felt like the arm wasn't hers, like she was just sticking her hand inside it, judging by the distance she felt from it. Finally, she bent her arms at the wrist, black furred hands meeting orange furred shoulders. It felt good to actually move her muscles. She mentally began to review all the facts that she was supposed to know.

First, she was Fox, harvester for her people, from the clan of Chess. Her task was to go to distant worlds that were getting too advanced and cull the herd, thus drastically reducing any planet's chance of advancing into space too quickly. Her people were in control of the stars and wouldn't let anyone join them that they didn't want to. In essence, they ensured that they were the only ones to travel between the stars. Anyone who wanted to join them had to be ready for severe oversight and "mentorship". They wouldn't let anyone get too strong.

This planet had begun to develop forms of propulsion that would lead to space travel soon if it wasn't nipped in the bud. That was where she came in. Her ship had travelled through space while she had slept.

Facts all still in order and mentally still sharp, she lifted one hand to push open her sleep capsule. The lid clicked open when she touched it. All it took was a light push and clean air blew into the space. It took her a few tries to get her body up and out of the resting place it had held for so long. She was conditioned for it though. Once out of the body, the ship had a series of metal 'arms' waiting for her to grab onto. These would suffice until her body remembered how to stand on its own again. She leaned on the arms, her legs wobbling. Her stomach growled loudly. "Hush you," she told it. "I'll get to you soon enough. There will be plenty to eat."

The navigation system for the ship beeped on without any catalyst. It was set to a timer after she awoke. As Fox looked down from her ship, through the space between, a green planet floated below. "Another flock to harvest," she said with a grin. "Soon enough. Soon enough."

-

It took only a day for word to travel of the monster that had arrived on their planet. The horror spread quickly. It had started as news of an arrival from the stars, a location they had been studying for years, wondering how to leave their own celestial body to arrive at others. Then the message had been transmitted that the arrival was walking about, exploring. Then the stories of destruction and death followed.

The city of Kalihoon knew she was moving in their direction. They knew she would be there in hours. And they knew they didn't have time to flee far enough. She would find them and destroy them. So instead of trying to run or the use of conventional weapons, like others had already tried, they turned to the unconventional.

One young dragon lad, one who's wings hadn't even grown in yet, was sent to ascend a nearby mountain. Near its peak, a single monk made his home as part of an ancient shrine to old deities.

The boy climbed and prayed as only a child could. He was old enough to understand death, but not old enough to have lost his faith in the impossible entirely. He arrived at the shrine, his body shivering and cold. He approached it with reverence, but also the sense of urgency. It had taken him two hours to climb and he didn't know how much time his people had.

There, sitting within the structure, sat an old fox. Unlike the rest of the people below, this one was part myth, part reality. He had nine tails instead of one, each dancing around him constantly in some manner that might or might not have manner. The boy bowed before the monk, begging for help. For if weapons that shot lasers couldn't kill the beast, what could? The monk lifted a hand, stopping the boy from his tears. He asked the boy what the city was willing to sacrifice for the stopping of the beast.

The young dragon looked up at the monk and whispered, "Everything, sir. Everything and anything."

The kitsune monk nodded and a single tail reached into the darkness of the shrine and withdrew holding a mirror. It wasn't fancy, just a single flat stone with a gem in it that reflected its surface. The tail held it out to him. The boy took it, whispering every word of thanks, and ran. He did not think to ask what it would do, how it would work, or what the city would give up. He just was thankful for even a glimmer of some kind of hope. So he ran back down to the city, holding the stone mirror tight.

By the time he arrived back to the city, the giant monster loomed. She looked so harmless, her fur beautiful in its own way, a red fox with dark hair. Except she was easily twenty times the size of any other. The town elders grabbed the mirror from the boy, all eager for some kind of magical weapon. Instead, they were handed a stone. Incredulous, they yelled at the boy, asking how to shoot it. How to kill with it. The boy didn't understand. He had done as they had asked and brought them their salvation. They threw it down, beat the boy for his stupidity, and then walked away from both dragon whelp and stone.

The boy shed not a tear, for he had faith. He grabbed the mirror and ran to the city walls while his elders argued about whom they needed to save and how they might do so. On the walls, he did the logical thing in his heart. He held the mirror up, presenting it to the beast as she approached.

-

Fox eyed the next city, the last in a string of advanced civilizations. By her count, if she destroyed this one and maybe two smaller ones, it should set this planet of lizard-folk back at least two generations and three levels of advancement in terms of technology. They would not look to the stars for years. Nay, she thought with a grin; it would take generations.

Then a flash of light hit her eyes. She glanced down at the smallest figure standing on the wall, holding something. It reflected light into her eyes and hurt. She snorted and stepped forward to stomp another wall. It was always easy. It was what she was trained to do. When her foot landed, Fox was surprised to not feel the normal crunch of something destroyed. She lifted her foot and glanced under it. There was no rubble. There was no wall. There wasn't even a city. "How...?" She glanced around, wondering how she had lost sight of the city.

A wall now loomed over her instead of her looming over it. A small dragon boy dropped the stone in shock. The rampaging monster was now his size, smaller than even the average dragon among his people. He gaped down at her, and she suddenly stared at him, eyes wide.

It took the city a few minutes to realize their doom wasn't imminent. It took a few more for the elders to realize that their monster wasn't so big anymore. They walked out, triumphant and full of themselves and their reassured dominance over this 'beast'. They put her in chains, they kicked her, they pushed her against the ground and placed their claws on her, grinding her body against the ground. She cried, but they ignored it as she had ignored theirs.

A small boy watched it all from the city walls. He had thought he was getting rid of the monster, but it seemed that his own people were led by monsters. He didn't know what was truly right, but this felt wrong. As they dragged her away, the whole city turning out to 'boo' her and throw things at her, a small dragon boy followed as closely as he dared, still clutching a stone mirror.

They threw her into the city prison. People showed up to spit at her, to curse at her, but still the small boy watched. When all had left, off to debate how to execute the monster, the boy still watched. No one stopped to thank this boy, nor shake his hand, nor even recognize anything he had done. The monster's shoulders shook, her body bruised and bleeding from the beating of creatures much bigger than her. Tears fell onto the stone floor.

The small boy stepped out of the darkness and walked up to the cell door. The monster didn't even notice him. "Excuse me," he asked as politely as he could. "Why did you come here to destroy us?"

Fox, of clan Chess, lifted her head, her left eye started to swell so she could barely see out of it. This was the first time anyone had talked -to- her and not at her. "Because...my people rule the stars. And...well...We don't want anyone else to come to the stars that aren't ready."

The boy tilted his head, "How do you know if they're ready?"

"Well, when we know they will let us set-up monitoring and safeguards in place so we can..."

The boy interrupted, "Who are you to judge?"

This stopped Fox, "Well...we were first?"

The boy asked, "And that's reason enough to say that you have a right to judge us? Who judged you to say you were ready?"

Fox paused, tears still streaming down her face, "We did. We thought we were, but maybe...we were the ones who weren't ready."

The boy nodded, "I thought you were the monster. That you deserved to be beaten and destroyed. Except now that you're in our power, I've seen the monster in my own people. Maybe we deserve to be destroyed. Maybe you were right, we weren't ready for space."

Fox wiped the tears away, wincing at the pain it caused her. The boy looked at her, "But that doesn't mean everyone on my planet is a monster, miss. So...please...give us a chance next time."

With those words, he took out the mirror and held it up to her. Fox took it gently, the jewel in the stone glinting at her. "Why...why give this to me?"

The boy smiled at her, "Maybe...because it's right. And maybe because...I don't know who the real monster is anymore."

Fox held the mirror gingerly, then held it back to the boy, "I don't think I want to be that monster anymore."

Before she could hand it off to him, a tail reached out and took it from her, "That's alright then. I'll be taking that."

Both Fox and boy looked over at the kitsune monk, standing in the prison and no longer in his shrine. The boy squeaked, "Sir! What are you doing here?"

The kitsune smiled, "You said anything. I'm taking the power stored in this mirror for myself. I've always wanted to be large. I think 100 ft. would be quite fitting. But don't worry, I'll give it back to the lady when I'm done with my fun. I'll only destroy a some of this city."

The kitsune chuckled and swept a bow, then faded into darkness, stone mirror and all.