Trial By Fire
#14 of Tail Underground
It had been only a couple of nights since word of a group of bandits were scouring the lands of Arca for the Soulfoxes, leaving the young tender at the Tail Underground nervous with each night that falls. According to ancient records that due their natural magical affinities, the very pelts of the Soulfox, when stripped freshly and enchanted correctly, would create a Cloak of Invisibility that was perfect in every way. It was quiet for most of the night, but it wouldn't be for long. Ian's ear would pick up to the sounds of scuffling outside. Ian would slowly walk to the window only to suddenly see two smoke bombs tossed into the inn. He would turn around suddenly as the hiss of the smoke comes seeping out and the sounds of men suddenly rushing into the in. The young Soulfox suddenly reached behind the bar for his orichalcum gun-daggers from behind the counter, and holding them at ready.
"IKAGE! KAEDE! TO ME!!!!" he screamed searching around for them.
He would find them slumped over in the corner, and unconscious, then revealing the smoke to be knockout gas. Ian would stand at the ready, blocking as many of the attacks as he could, but he was simply overran. He would feel the heavy wooden butt of a pistol on the back of his neck and fall over onto the ground. The Bandits would quickly bag the young soulfox's face and quickly carry him out in military fassion as if they were trained for this day, Disappearing into the night from whence they came.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the Master Suite of the Inn, the young emperor of Han-Ma, who was until recently resting quietly, opened his eyes to see his ring glowing brightly on his hand. He would spring up from the bed and rush downstairs to find Ikage and Kaede knocked out on the ground.
"Ikage?! Kaede?! What happened?" Xing would scream as he tried to wake them up.
He suddenly looked down at the bombs, picking one up and sniffing slightly, "Knockout Gas..." he said softly.
He would suddenly stand up and slowly walk outside to notice that King Arca, along with his guards were outside, investigating.
"Where is He? Where's Ian?!" he demanded to the middle aged lion, obviously angered by what has transpired.
"I've no idea Xing, I just got here after hearing a report that Five of my men were killed suddenly in the middle of the night while defending this Inn... coming directly from the Forest of Arca towards the South."
Xing closed his eyes and clenched his fist tightly, Arca looked to the young fox interestedly, Xing would then open his eyes with a sudden blaze in his pupils, one that none had ever seen before, as if seeing far and beyond his mortal coil.
"I know where he is... deep within Forest Arca..." With that Xing began hopped upon his horse to head in the direction of the forest.
"Allow me to send..." Began Arca but was silenced by Xing raising his hand.
"Nay Arca... I Shan't... need help."
As Xing furiously began his ride towards the Forest, Arca couldn't help but shake, he was to be a fearless king yes, but staring into the eyes of that fox would strike an unknown fear within him.
Ian would once again awaken lying within the tent of the Bandit's; the bag had been lifted long ago.
"GET UP" yelled one of the bandits as he pulled him up roughly from the ground.
Ian shook his head to throw the grogginess as he beheld the gang's leader, a shadowy figure on a makeshift throne, and another familiar face, Luna Reyalis, the Snowfox rogue whom he had met not too long ago.
"Well, well, well..." Began the leader, smiling from his throne, "Ian Reinhardt, I had a feeling that you were a Soulfox... but I didn't think you'd still be in Arca after what the King did..."
Ian looked up in utter horror as the figure stood up and walked into the firelight, the smirking face of the tanned dingo before him garbed in leather armor and armed to the teeth with a sword and a gun.
"Leo... w... I thought..." he began.
"That's LEONARDO TO YOU IAN! SIR LEONARDO!" he screamed as he slapped the soulfox across the mouth. "But in this case, you will call me Master DeVille... if you will..." he said as he walked over to his second in command.
"Sir!" said the young Tiger standing at attention, "our other targets were not found... they were not in their houses... we've no idea where they've disappeared off to."
The Dingo would sneer slightly as he grabbed an apple and toyed with it, "That is most disconcerting... Where could all the soulfoxes gone..."
Ian gently smiled and looked up to his adversary, "What's wrong... didn't think Xing and I would catch on to you? They're all in Han-Ma... safe within the city of Ryo-ma."
The Dingo would suddenly growl and throw the apple at Ian, hitting him in the chest as hard as he could, "HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME!!!!! I was supposed to be your superior to begin with... and you snatched that blasted promotion from me!" he screamed at him, "THAT was why I spread those rumors about you being a tail raiser which lead to that decree... I never truly thought it was true until you were exiled..."
Suddenly he smirked a bit as he walked over to Ian and smirked "You know Templeton... I've got an idea... a way to get back at Ian AND get our cloaks that we need..."
Ian would look up and then spit into Leonardo's face, growling loudly, "Do your worst, you won't get anything from me!"
Leonardo would wipe it from his face and smirk.
"That's ok Ian... I will have my way with you... Ian... you are a male... and this little kit here... she's a female..." he started and smirked as it began to sank in.
"YOU'RE FUCKING SICK LEONARDO!!!!" He screamed as he lunged forward but being pulled back at the last moment.
The Dingo would suddenly pull the gun out from his belt and places it to his head, "You will do it Ian... or I'll kill you..." he smirked, looking into his eyes.
Ian would not say a word, "Take my life... you would only incur the wrath of an entire kingdom... Xing does have feelings for me... and he will have your head if you kill me..."
The Dingo would growl loudly and suddenly place the gun to Luna's head, "Maybe I've been threatening the wrong person for the right results!" he yelled as he slowly pulled the trigger.
"NO!!!!!" Screamed Ian as he again lunging in futility, "Please no! Don't, I'll do it, I'll do it!"
Luna shook her head, "FORGET ABOUT ME IAN!!!! You don't have to worry, I've lived a good yet short life... don't do it on my part!"
Ian would shake his head and looked desperately to her, "No... I cannot have your death on my conscience Luna..."
Leonardo would suddenly laugh and start dancing around, "OH-HO! You know each other! Wonderful! That makes this more enjoyable..."
Suddenly from out of nowhere, one of the other bandits, a young raccoon garbed in the same style tunic as the rest of the band, started stumbling into the tent suddenly, causing everyone to suddenly turn around.
"It's... It's a demon..." he said as he falls over onto the ground dead.
"What?!" said the dingo as he walked towards the young bandit who just died. He would turn him over to find the cut across his torso was cauterized and freshly burned into the skin. "What could have done..." began the young dingo only to look up and see a fiery blade slice through the door of the tent, and standing before him was a blazing entity in the form of a fox. "What the hell! GUARDS!!!!" he screamed stumbling back.
The Guards would rush over to their leader's side, only to be cut down with utter quickness using a style only Ian had seen before, it was beautifully deadly, as if the figure was dancing.
"I... It can't be... X... Xing?!" he said softly to himself.
Leonardo looked at him and blinked slight, "Who... Who are you being?!" he asked.
The Figure would look down to him as it lifted his sword, "I am the Fox-Fire elemental only known as Blaze... bound to this mortal coil as a protector of this young fox... I am the elemental of war... and I will relieve you of your misery and pain..." it said softly.
The Dingo would pick up the gun and moves to place the gun to Ian's head, but his hand would be met by the being's sword hacking it off, causing Ian to immediately feint at the sight. The being would suddenly look down to Leonardo and grab him by his leather tunic.
"Are you the only one's who know the secret of the Snowfox pelts?!" Leonardo nods softly in utter horror and he shivered with fear. "In that case..." said the being as he shoved the sword through his chest, "I release you from this mortal coil... to return to the twisted nether from which you crawled from..."
He would allow the limp body to fall as the flames would fade away, revealing that the being was in fact it was Xing.
"Xing!" screamed the still conscious Luna as she stood up slowly.
Xing would gently cut her bindings and looked to her, "Get back to town... just head north and you will find the path." Luna gently nodded and ran off in that direction.
At The Underground, the usual occupants of the inn would be downstairs after the commotion, Ikage over in the corner, still angry at failing in his mission.
"Do you think Ian is ok?" Voldren would ask as he hands Ikage a drink.
"No telling... I can't use my ninjitsu abilities still... that bomb was..."
But before he could finish his comment, the door would open as Xing, carrying the unconscious Ian came walking in.
"IAN!!!!" Screamed Xi as he slowly walked over to him, "IS HE...?!"
Xing would shake his head, "No he is not... he does need to rest though... so you should leave him be..."
He would then disappear upstairs into the keeper's room.
Voldren would stare at the fox the whole time, "That aura about him... that's... unusual... some arcane power is bound to him..."
Foxstar would chuckle from his spot at the bar at that comment, "You are a fool... don't tell me you cannot recognize the aura of fire elementals?" he would say in a blazé way.
Voldren would look to the stairs and blink slightly, "No... it cannot be..."
It would be sometime before Ian would wake up slowly and looked over before him to see Xing bent over and seemingly mixing up some herbs and crushing them in between two leaves.
"uuuugghhh... Xing? Is that..."
The emperor would turn around and slowly stand up with the leaves, "Shhhh... you need rest Ian."
He said gently, walking over to him. Xing would gently lift Ian up and place the one leaf with a green substance on it over the back of his neck, "you got a nasty bruise there Sir Ian, this will help out."
Ian would sigh gently as the emperor's paws would flare up and sooth the pain, as if the magic paste was enabled by the heat, but instead of heating up, it cooled down.
"Xing... that... that being. What was that?" Ian finally asked after a while. Xing gently sighed a bit as he closed his eyes, thinking of where exactly to begin.
"Many years ago, when I was first born, I was not always the healthiest of Kits. The doctors only gave me a grand total of three years. My father was desperate to make sure I would survive and continuously tried to find a cure for what ailed me. It would take till a few days until my third birthday that he would become desperate and decide to ask the help of the Elementals. He asked first of the Flame elementals and was granted his wish, but the only problem with it is in the deal, he would have to shorten his life span... My father, being an unselfish man, gladly made the deal. The Fox-Fire elemental known as Blaze, the fire elemental of war would be fused to my soul in order to save me, embedded deep within so no one could have known about it. I awakened on my third birthday after a year long coma. My father was too happy to care about the sacrifice he made just to see me healthy for the first time in my life. He had at least four other children, one he unfortunately never told us about because he knew not how long he would live. He would finally die at the young age of 58... I would only find out about Blaze during the Seven Year War, when my brother Chang was in danger that Blaze would awaken from within me. Afterwards he came to me in a dream and told me everything my father failed to tell me before he died... I decided from that day forward, I would be as selfless as he was in life... he sacrificed his life so that I could live, and I will never forget that..."
As Xing finally finished his medical work, he would gently stood up and slowly looked down to the young tender, "You probably should rest now Sir Ian... you'll be in a bit of pain, but you'll be fine... nothing life threatening..."
Ian gently looked up and smiled, with a single tear in his eye, "Your father would be proud to hear this from you Xing, and consider us even..."
Xing nodded softly and smiled, "I will away to my room, I'll pay you in the mourning..."
Xing would slowly turn to leave only to have Ian gently grab his arm suddenly and pull him back, "Xing... can... can you stay with me tonight... I'm... still kind of shaken..." said Ian.
Xing nodded softly and would lay gently next to him, "Of course Sir Ian... anything for you..."
-END