Chapter 41: Lilypaka Explains

Misty sat in the corner of the visitors' room, deep in thought about the words from Busara. Something about the Peacebenders needing me, and Yin and Yang... she thought. Why would the Peacebenders need me? Aren't they powerful? She sighed in frustration. Well, if they do need me, they're not getting help anytime soon...
"Hey, Misty," said a voice. Misty looked up to see Bracken coming for her. "My headache's gone. But I feel a bit drowsy."
"Ah," Misty murmured in response.
Bracken studied her for a bit. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You look really lost in thought."
"That message I got from Busara? It makes no sense," Misty replied. "I don't know what to do about it."
"Maybe I can help you!" Bracken exclaimed, beaming at her. "I can probably figure it out!"
"Sorry, Bracken, I think I can handle this. I'll learn eventually," Misty insisted.
"You sure?" Bracken asked.
"Yes, Bracken. But thanks anyway," Misty said.
Misty looked as Lephos and Rhett trotted her way. "Hey," Lephos greeted her. "We were all going to go hunting, want to join us?"
"No," Misty replied.
"Why not?" Rhett asked.
"She's dealing with that whole mystery thing," Bracken replied.
"Oh, come on," Rhett snorted with an eye roll, "it's just words that came out of a meerkat's mouth, so why listen to it? Come on, Misty, let's go."
"It's important," Misty insisted, "I'm not coming."
"So since you got these big important words from a meerkat shaman, you're going to give up hunting just to sit here and ponder? Makes sense," Rhett muttered.
"Look, just go do your hunting. I don't want to at the moment. Is that a crime?" Misty demanded.
"No, but then again it's not like you actually can hunt, so perhaps it's best that you don't tag along," Rhett smirked.
Misty growled, getting to her paws, but Lephos jumped in front of her. "Whoa, whoa. Break it up," he insisted. "Stay here, it's fine. C'mon, guys, let's go."
"I say let them fight!" Sidew exclaimed, trotting over. "Come on, Lephos, it'll be fun."
"You coming, Si?" Lephos asked, seeming to be attempting to change the subject.
"'Course, let's take off," Sidew nodded. He headed for the exit, Lephos following. Rhett followed without a backwards glance at Misty.
"Y'know he was just teasing," Bracken said to Misty. "That's just the way Rhett acts when he likes someone."
Bracken trotted off.
Rhett can be a pain in the tail sometimes, Misty decided, sitting back down, but he's okay for a friend, I guess...
Lilypaka came through the entrance. "Hi, Misty," she greeted the wolf, walking up to her. "All your other friends are going hunting. Why aren't you?"
"I got stuff to think about, Lilypaka," Misty sighed.
"Oh. Maybe taking a walk will help," Lilypaka suggested. "C'mon, we can visit my brother."
"Alright," Misty got to her paws. "I want to see how well he's doing in his prison, anyway."
"He's actually meeting with the Council," Lilypaka said. "I'll take you there."
Misty followed Lilypaka out of the room. They were now in the main room of the tree. Sunlight sparkled in from the skylight, making the Meerkat Clan's home look beautiful. There were a few meerkats out and about, but obviously not the whole Clan was here; Misty figured they were all doing their duties.
"Tiggerpaka got called to the Council for a small court," Lilypaka explained as she climbed the steps.
"Aren't you concerned about your brother?" Misty asked, realizing Lilypaka didn't have a nervous tone.
Lilypaka shook her head. "Actually, the Council isn't that dangerous. They may claim they'll do stuff, but the worst they'll do is ship you to the prison. I hardly think Tiggerpaka will be in trouble. And with how stubborn and annoying he is, the Council will most likely get fed up and send him back to his cell."
They entered the Council's room to see the Council scowling at an angry-looking Tiggerpaka.
"You are guilty of your crime of treason, then!" exclaimed Mbili.
"You pathetic Council," Tiggerpaka spat. "I saved your sorry hides! I single-handedly saved you from Tiredblade."
"Saved us!? If anything, you endangered the Clan!" Tatu growled.
"And worst of all, us - the Council!" added Moja. "What have you to say in your defense?"
"Puh-lease," Tiggerpaka rolled his eyes. "I have nothing to say to defend myself. I. Saved. The. Clan! You morons are obviously too blind to see that I am your greatest warrior."
"If you were our greatest warrior, you wouldn't be in exile!" roared Mbili.
"I'm not in exile. I chose to leave! Your pathetic Clan was not of much use to me. I had a greater destiny!" Tiggerpaka declared.
"SAY THAT AGAIN!" snarled Tatu, storming up so he was nose-to-nose with Tiggerpaka.
"That again," Tiggerpaka said.
Tatu growled, gripping Tiggerpaka by his chest fur with his paw. "To the prison! Now!"
Tiggerpaka pushed Tatu's paws off his chest. "No! I am an adventurer! I saved you from Tiredblade!" Tiggerpaka protested.
Misty turned to Lilypaka. "Why was Tiggerpaka exiled?" she asked.
"Well," Lilypaka said, "long story, but here's why..."


As a rather young kit - newly made a warrior - Tiggerpaka was going on one of his "adventures" in the forest by the Meerkat Clan's field. He was jumping through the trees. "I am the best warrior the Meerkat Clan has!" he exclaimed to himself. "The Council shall be proud to have me among their ranks."
The bushes below rustled. Tiggerpaka, determined, snapped a skinny branch off the tree. I shall destroy this intruder! he vowed, holding the stick in his paws as a weapon.
Tiggerpaka hopped off the tree, and suddenly, a black jaguar arose from the bushes. He hadn't seen Tiggerpaka yet. The jaguar looked around, and silently walked to leave. You're not getting away that easily! exclaimed Tiggerpaka in his head.
With a yell, Tiggerpaka leapt and slapped the jaguar with the stick. "Die, trespasser!"
Apparently accepting the challenge, the jaguar snarled and batted Tiggerpaka easily away with his paw. "You puny rodent," he snarled, as he pinned Tiggerpaka to the ground, "you dare mess with a Firebender?"
"You're a trespasser! What's your name? I will kill you single-pawed!" Tiggerpaka vowed.
"Ha. You're not trouble; merely an annoyance," the jaguar snorted, pushing Tiggerpaka away. "I'm Firedblade - the top warrior of the Fire Nation - and I'll give you once chance, kid, to leave and we can act like this never happened. Otherwise, I will kill you."
"I will never surrender to you, Tiredblade!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed. He pointed his stick at Fireblade and charged him. With a smirk, Fireblade easily dodged the young meerkat's attempt at an attack. Tiggerpaka kept running past the jaguar and slammed into a tree, his stick hitting a hornet's nest.
Quickly, a swarm of angry hornets formed in a shape of a cloud. They didn't see Tiggerpaka, but they did see Fireblade - and angrily flew towards the black jaguar.
As they covered Fireblade, stinging him, he roared in pain and began running around in unintentional directions, trying to shake off the furious hornets. Tiggerpaka collected himself and grabbed his stick, and then watched Fireblade running off - in the direction of the Meerkat Clan. "You get back here, you mangy cat! Get back here and fight!"
Fireblade kept running, and Tiggerpaka chased after the jaguar, yelling.
It was a quiet morning in the Meerkat Clan. The meerkats were all taking their break, laying lazily in the field, sunbathing. The sky was a cloudless blue, a slight breeze - a perfect morning. No troubles, nothing to deal with - the meerkats were completely laid-back and comfortable.
A yell split across the clearing. Several meerkats poked their heads up, and jolted in alarm as a black jaguar burst onto the scene, hornets and Tiggerpaka in tow. A meerkat lookout sounded the alarm, signifying danger, and the Clan members began to scramble chaotically.
The meerkats crashed into each other, knocking each other over. They got stung by hornets repeatedly, tripped over their own feet, causing chaos among the Clan.
Reacting to the alarm, meerkat warriors flew out of the tunnels, weapons at the ready. "CHARGE!" roared a meerkat, and the warriors ran.
The hornets were flying everywhere, and some flew for the warriors, stinging them. Upon getting hit, some warriors fell to the ground, but others carried on. A few swatted at the hornets, but this made them madder, and the meerkats who swatted them got stung, crying out in pain.
The few meerkats that managed to make it to Fireblade went to hit the jaguar, but the hornets around Fireblade zipped for the warriors. The meerkats yelled out and fell to the ground, defeated from the hornet stings.
As the hornets began dying from losing their stingers by stinging Fireblade and the meerkats, the Clan began stomping on the already-dead hornets, as if they were still a threat. Tiggerpaka, with a battle cry, lunged for Fireblade, who was standing still, panting from getting hurt so much, eyes swollen shut from the stings.
However, Tiggerpaka came to a screeching halt and slid under Fireblade's belly, the jaguar unaware of the meerkat's presence. Tiggerpaka took his stick and poked Fireblade in the belly. The cat yelled in alarm, jumping up at the unexpected attack, and crashed into a giant wooden cistern next to the Meerkat Clan's tree, which had collected the rainwater that would supply the Clan with something to drink.
The cistern gave way and water crashed out from it. Like a tsunami, the wave swept away meerkats, dead hornets, and Tiggerpaka. Washing them into the forest.
Fireblade, unaware of what had happened, got to his paws. And he fled.


"Wow," Misty commented. "Things about Tiggerpaka are starting to make a lot more sense now."
Lilypaka started snickering.
"What?" Misty frowned.
"I never thought I'd hear the words 'make sense' and 'Tiggerpaka' in the same sentence," Lilypaka laughed.
Misty smiled and put her tail around the meerkat in a hug.
"Hey, I have an idea," Lilypaka whispered to Misty. "How about you use your new 'goddess powers' and ask the Council to free Tiggerpaka?"
"That's a good idea," Misty remarked with a smile.

Author's Note:
Well, here you get to see Tiggerpaka's past. Hope you enjoyed it. OuO
Oh, and check out my latest story - "To Glory". Link in my blogger profile. Click here to see my profile.

Chapter 40: The Stone Wall

The next day, everyone was outside eating breakfast. Some were about to go out hunting or patrolling, others were planning on training in the yard. A lot of animals were eating the plentiful food - but with white-earth on its way, the prey wouldn't be as common as it was at the moment. But we have good hunters, Ash kept telling himself. He watched as the animals all talked in groups around the yard; they were like Ash's family, The Bending Tower. They'd took him in, trained him and now he was leading them.
I wonder if Misty-- Ash stopped himself. It was a question he asked quite often: would Misty, Ash's daughter, ever become leader of The Bending Tower one day? She can't. She's gone, and I'll never see her again, Ash thought sadly. Same with Adele...
"Hi," said a voice Ash recognized. He turned as Airia came up and sat beside him, hugging him with her right wing.
"Hi," Ash replied.
"Are you doing okay?" Airia asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Ash frowned, looking at Airia.
She held his gaze. "You know why."
Ash sighed. He had tried acting brave about the situation of his two only daughters being missing, but truthfully he was devastated. "Yeah..."
"Look. We'll be fine," Airia insisted. "Adele and Misty, wherever they are...I-I'm sure they're okay."
It seemed as though Airia didn't even believe her own words. Ash shook his head. "I can't believe we're replacing them."
"It's necessary," Airia replied. "I explained why."
"I know. It just feels...wrong," Ash admitted.
Airia put her tail around Ash's shoulders. "Well...see you around."
She padded for The Bending Tower.
Ash watched Airia go, and as soon as she entered The Bending Tower, Bracken ran out. "I'M THE OTHER!" he shouted, but then halted, stumbled and collapsed.
"How many times has he done this?" Eclipse fretted, running over to Bracken. She was quickly followed by Audrey - Eclipse had been trying to cure Audrey's anxiety, and every meal time was when Eclipse worked with the young collie. "Bracken? Wake up," Eclipse urged, pushing the bobcat with her paw.
Bracken scurried to his paws. "I am fine, thank you!" Bracken growled.
He must be getting better, Ash realized, he's starting to talk normally. He watched as Bracken and Eclipse talked back and forth - Bracken growling, looking bitter, and Eclipse looking as though she was fighting to stay calm. Wait...he must know where Misty and Adele are!
Ash ran over to Bracken. "Bracken!"
"I'm not Bracken," Bracken growled. "I'm--"
Suddenly, Bracken froze and collapsed once more.
"Get up," Eclipse said to him.
Bracken slowly collected himself. "Right...What do you want...um, Ash?"
Well then, he's not completely better, Ash told himself, noticing Bracken's strange act. "Bracken, I want to know...where are Misty and Adele?"
"Who?" Bracken echoed.
"Misty and Adele," Ash echoed. "My daughters."
Bracken snorted. "Who cares?"
Ash froze. Normally, all he could ever hear Bracken talk about was how Misty was his best friend. Bracken's traumatized, Ash reminded himself. He's not going to be completely normal. "I do," Ash murmured.
"Well, I don't know where your precious daughters are, so suck it up," Bracken hissed.
"Maybe Bracken hit his head," Eclipse suggested. "Usually a personality change can be caused by being hit in the head."
"I did not hit my head," Bracken snorted. "I am perfectly okay."
"What do you remember?" Ash pressed.
"In the very beginning, I came from the shadows," Bracken responded. "Very rare time when we get to come out. Then I was consulted. Given a task. And now I'm here."
Ash frowned. That made no sense.
"Bracken..." Ash began. He decided to ask Bracken a question only the real Bracken would know. "Where did I find you?"
"I don't know," Bracken growled. "Now shut up, and if you'll excuse me, I need to go do...stuff."
Bracken trotted off.
"Strange," Eclipse commented. "Must be really badly traumatized."
"...I don't think he's traumatized," Ash insisted, shaking his head slowly. "That's...not the real Bracken."
Eclispe's blind blue eyes stared at Ash in wonder. "What...?"
"Look. I think I should talk to the Peacebenders. They'll let me know what is going on," Ash nodded. "I'll see you later."
Ash left Eclipse, trotting inside The Bending Tower. He headed up the steps and walked into his own room - the leader's room. He walked in a circle and closed his eyes. Peacebenders, please come to me...


When Ash awoke, his vision was blurry. He blinked his eyes and realized he was in a small room. In front of him was a huge, stone wall. Otherwise, the room was made of wood. "Hello?" Ash asked, looking around. Why would the Peacebenders summon me here? He asked himself. He began to call the names of Peacebenders who frequently visited him. "Feather? Susan? Goldwing?"
"Ash!"
The voice pierced Ash's ear. It was loud and pleading. "Hello?!"
"ASH!"
The sound was coming from the other side of the stone wall. "Who's there?"
"ASH! ASH! ASH!"
"WHO IS THERE?" Ash shouted.
"ASH! ASH! ASH!"
This voice was joined by another one. "ASH!"
Then another. "ASH! ASH! ASH!"
Soon, there were hundreds of voices calling Ash's name. He ducked down, covering his ears as the sounds overwhelmed him.
"ASH! ASH! ASH! ASH! ASH! ASH!"


Ash darted awake. Why didn't the Peacebenders visit me? he wondered, slowly getting to his paws.
Frequent earthquakes. Misty and Adele gone. A fake Bracken visiting The Bending Tower. The Peacebenders unreachable.
Something is terribly, terribly wrong...

Author's Note:
Sorry I didn't update in a while! But I'm currently at a beach house in Florida posting this. :) I'll have a lot of time to post chapters though, on the bright side. So expect another chapter soon. At least, I hope so...
And check the TFEOB Blog, please! Link on my profile.

Chapter 39: The Assassin and the Stones

The darkness of the land made it pretty difficult to see. No stars in the sky. There never was a sun. The sun lived elsewhere. This place was trapped in the dark. The few animals who lurked here had adapted to the darkness, and could see a bit - a mountain was silhouetted in the pitch-dark land, and occasionally you could hear cries, although no one was ever quite sure what it was of. The place was cold as well; not freezing-cold, but just cold enough to send shivers down your spine. It was hard to believe anything would want to live here. But some unlucky animals called this place "home".

"No, no, no!" a voice spat from a cave in the side of the jagged mountains. Inside, there was a white fox with yellow eyes cowering under something from the shadows. All you could see were red eyes glowing from the darkness, but nothing more of the figure the fox was scared of.

"V-Vortex, it's true," the fox insisted. "The Earth Guardian, they're coming."

"And you're saying this Earth Guardian has the power to talk to Yin and Yang," the red-eyed shadow - Vortex - spoke, "that would mean they could get them to stop fighting, and the plan would be ruined. And who is this Earth Guardian, Vexus?"

The fox, apparently named Vexus, hesitated. "I do not know, Vortex," he sighed. "All I know is, I had a dream. And it said the Earth Guardian is on their way. That's it. Whether they travel alone, I do not know. Theirr name, I do not know. Their appearance? I. Do. Not Know." He growled at the last sentence, as if getting angry.

The glowing red eyes got close to Vexus, and he jumped back, whimpering with fear. Vortex's voice hissed. "Well, you'd better find out fast. Or I will have no further use for you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Y-Yes," Vexus managed, nodding very quickly. 

"Good!" Vortex was silent for a few seconds, but then his red eyes narrowed. "Send in Ophir. I have a task for him."

Seeming relieved to get away from the red eyes, Vexus quickly padded out of the dark cave and into the still-dark world around him. He trotted in silence through the dark, walking along the base of the mountains. His white pelt appeared darker due to the lack of light, but his eyes were much more noticeable; in fact, they were somewhat glowing.

Suddenly, Vexus gasped as something slithered by. It then curled into an arch as it made its way up from the ground and it shifted into a something with a canine-like body and pointy ears, white eyes and a long, constantly-moving tail. Its tongue flickered and hissed at Vexus, before shifting into a snake-like thing and slithering off once more.

"Shadow Trackers," Vexus whispered in annoyance before continuing his walk. Shadow Trackers were kind of like minions, listening to those with authority, who lived in the Land of Yin, and the Land of Yin only. Shadow Trackers listened to Yin itself, and Vortex too - since Yin didn't really command the Shadow Trackers anymore, Vortex stepped in and took them over, and now they saw his as an authority figure. They did whatever Vortex asked. They always looked black with white eyes, but could shift form - their original form was supposedly its canine-like-form with the long tail and pointy ears, but for whatever reason it liked shifting into snake-like forms to move around quickly. No one was really sure why, because it was believed they didn't really have a mind of their own - the animal who commanded it seemed to give the Shadow Tracker what it should think. And, hence the name, Shadow Trackers were excellent at finding animals. Vortex sent the Shadow Trackers after the Earth Guardian, Vexus recalled, the ones he sent haven't quite returned yet...

Whooping and laughing reached Vexus's ears. He turned at a crevice in the side of the mountain. Ophir's in there, he thought. With a grimace he headed for the crevice. This was where Ophir's family - all wolves - lived; the children in this family were crafty and their idea of "funny" was someone nearly dying from one of their pranks. The parents of this family were careless. Ophir was one of the children, and he was often among them with their deadly pranking and laughing at others.

"Excuse me?" he called.

"THINKFAST!" howled a voice, and next thing Vexus knew, he was crushed under the weight of someone. Laughter filled Vexus's ears as he left out a grunt of pain.

"Get...off," Vexus gasped.

"Oh, I dunno. I'm feeling rather comfortable right here," laughed Vexus's attacker.

"P-Please," Vexus begged.

"Oh, get off of 'im, Elim," chuckled a voice.

The weight on Vexus lifted off, and the fox quickly scrambled to his feet. He turned to look at who had attacked him: Elim, the biggest of the children. His fur was dark brown and he had yellow eyes and a light brown undertail. He smirked. "Not so tough, are you Vexus?" he said, prodding Vexus with his paw.

"Of course he isn't!" laughed another voice. A light brown wolf with black markings under his green eyes pushed Vexus, making the fox fall over. The wolf laughed. "He's just Vortex's measly little messenger is all!"

Howls of laughter erupted.

"Quiet," barked a cold voice. Immediately the laughter stopped. Bright green eyes glowed in the darkness, and a dark brown female wolf stepped out of the shadows. She pushed her way through the group of children, who quickly parted as she came through, until she was standing right over Vexus. "What do you want, Vexus?"

Vexus immediately recognized her: Nome, the mother of this family. She was cold and - although she never said so - obviously approved of her children's pranks, as she didn't tell them not to pull them. "Vortex sent me," Vexus said, trying to hide the fear in his voice, "he wants to see Ophir."

Moans could be heard.

"Why does he want Ophir?" demanded a girl's voice.

"Yeah!" agreed another girl, "Ophir is--"

"The best wolf here?" piped up a voice. A gray wolf with green eyes came out of the shadows, smirking. He had dark gray markings over his eyes. He made his way to the rest of the group, keeping the smirk upon his face. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Shut up, Ophir," growled one of the girls. 

"So," Ophir turned to Vexus. "Vortex needs me?"
"Yes. Come with me," Vexus nodded, turning to leave the crevice.

"See you all later. Obviously, Vortex picked the best wolf here," Ophir smiled, following Vexus.

"Oh, right, Ophir!"

"Yeah, sure! He probably only called you to kill you!"

"Don't let your tail get stuck on the way out!"

Suddenly, a rock flew Vexus's way and he yelped in alarm, jumping back. Laughter came from behind him.

"Nice one, Ruby!" laughed one of the girls.

"Why, thank you. If only it'd actually hit him!"

"That's because your aim is terrible."
"Shut up, Nikolai!"

Vexus was now out of earshot of the voices, and shivered. He absolutely hated Ophir's family, always trying to avoid them; all they ever did was pick on others, and seemed to especially like making a target of Vexus himself. But, like most of the animals around here, they saw Vortex as a great leader, which was why they were mad that he wanted to see Ophir.

Vexus and Ophir were now at Vortex's cave. Vexus padded inside, returning to his red-eyed leader. Ophir followed, still wearing the smirk he had when Vexus has called his name. 

As the fox and wolf headed deeper into the shadows, their pawsteps echoed throughout the cave. Vexus could hear the sound of water: drip. Drip. Drip. It actually may not be water, Vexus told himself, shivering. Last time I thought there was water in here, it turned out to be fresh blood... he recoiled at the memory of finding a torn-up coyote body in the cave.

"Ah, Vexus, you're back," said a voice. The glowing red eyes were there, eyeing Vexus and Ophir.

"I brought him," Vexus managed.

"Do you think I am blind? Of course you did," Vortex growled.

"I-I'm not...no longer of u-use to you now, right?" Vexus asked nervously, recalling Vortex's words. Was that a hint that I may be growing useless? he thought worriedly.

Vortex was quiet for a few moments, then spoke. "No, Vexus. I think I have some further use for you. When it comes to messengers, it doesn't get much better than you..."
"It doesn't?" Vexus perked up, feeling pleased at the compliment.

"Yes, despite your idiocy and the fact that you're a wimp, at least you're up for the job."

Ophir snickered, and Vexus's head fell with a sigh. "Do you wish to dismiss me?"
"No, Vexus, I think you can be allowed to know what's going on," Vortex said. "After all, I've let you in on everything this far, right?"
Vortex is in a good mood, Vexus realized. Compliments (despite he seemed to take it back), being allowed to know his plans? Despite it didn't seem like much, that was Vortex on one of his better days - which, actually, were pretty rare.

"First off, Vexus, I learned something," Vortex said. "One of the Shadow Trackers came to me while you were gone. They had seen the Earth Guardian has...friends."
"Friends?" Vexus echoed.

"Yes. The Earth Guardian does not travel alone," Vortex confirmed. "The Shadow Tracker showed me that she's in a group of eight. A meerkat. Two Border Collies. A bobcat. Four wolves. And the Earth Guardian themself. We must eliminate the Earth Guardian - and the rest of the group, if they fight to protect them - and you know why, Vexus."
Vexus nodded. The Earth Guardian is a threat to Vortex's plans, he remembered.

"They're on their way here. To destroy what I had started," Vortex growled. "I'm sending more Shadow Trackers to spy on them and find out more about our enemy. But in the meantime...Ophir, this is where you come in."
Ophir perked up. "What am I going to do?"
"Once we find out enough to know what this group is up to, I want you to find some way to...get rid of them," Vortex hissed.

Vexus suppressed a shiver. "Does that mean..." Ophir said, hesitating.

"Kill them? Yes," Vortex growled. "And you know what the fun part is? I'm letting you decide how. Painful and slow is preferred. And before you do, kindly let them know that their death is because they decided to try and interfere with me."
"Of course," Ophir smiled. "I'll carry it out, Vortex."
"Splendid. Now..." His red eyes glowed even brighter.

A hissing sound made Vexus jump with alarm. A Shadow Tracker slithered in, examining Vexus and Ophir with the flick of its tongue, and then it slithered up to Vortex's side.

"Ophir, take this Shadow Tracker with you," said Vortex. "It'll take you to the group, and leave you once you get there."
"But how do I--?" Ophir began.

"Find your way back?" Vortex chuckled. "Oh, that's the fun part. You got to try and find the way back yourself. Be sure to remember the way, because I'm not helping you."
"But why? If I do such an important job for you...shouldn't I get some help?" Ophir asked.

Vexus recoiled, expecting Vortex to growl, but he, strangely, seemed calm. "Ophir, please do not ask questions when I tell you something. Since you're new to my plans, you're being let off with a warning. Clear?"
"Clear," Ophir repeated nervously.

"Finding your way back proves that you're not only a killer, but smart. Then I'll know I can use you again. If you don't, then you've already completed the task you're useful for, and I no longer need you." Vortex explained. "Now go."
"Now?" Ophir said.

"Yes. And do know I'll be watching you," Vortex added. His eyes glowed again, and Vexus knew he was speaking to the Shadow Tracker. The Shadow Tracker hissed and slithered up to Ophir, who turned to leave, padding for the exit.

"And Ophir? It's an assassination mission. I expect it to be all I'm hoping for," Vortex called.

"I'll kill them," promised Ophir's voice.

Silence filled the cave as Vexus awaited further orders.

"Now Vexus, come with me. I'm going to show you one of the best parts of this plan," Vortex said.

"You're coming out of your cave?" Vexus said in disbelief, but then realized it was bad to sound so shocked. Then again, all Vexus had ever seen of Vortex was her glowing red eyes and had heard her voice; in fact, Vexus was sure that no one had ever seen Vortex's full appearance.

"Of course, Vexus. What kind of leader doesn't come out of their den every once in a while?" Vortex insisted. "Now come on."

Vortex stepped out of the shadows, and his glowing eyes died down a bit, but still remained glowing, like everyone else's eyes in the Land of Yin. Vexus studied her. He was a wolf. Dark pelt and red eyes, with a blue lightning mark on his side. He turned to Vexus. "Well?"
Vexus snapped out of his thoughts of finally seeing his leader's appearance. "L-Let's go, then..."

Vortex padded for the exit, and Vexus quickly padded after him, not wanting to have Vortex get angry at him for being too slow. They trotted in silence and then left the cave, going to the outside world.
The familiar glowing red eyes came back as Vortex continued to trot east. Vexus, his eyes glowing as well, quickly followed her. "Where are we going?" he asked nervously. East of the Land of Yin was the Land of Yang - it was bright over there, and it's where all good lived. On the borderline of the Land of Yin and the Land of Yang was where the Protectors were: warriors who defended the Land of Yin and Yang from outsiders and anyone who could cause trouble. But could anyone - even Vortex - cross sides? The Protectors also kept animals from switching sides, so the animals in the Land of Yin stayed in the Land of Yin, and those in the Land of Yang in the Land of Yang.
"Oh, we're just going to remove the Father Stones," Vortex replied with an unsettling smile.
"R-Remove the Father Stones?" Vexus echoed. He had heard the Mother Stones, which were elsewhere, was what the Father Stones worked through to help animals on the mainland. "But..."
"The Father Stones help with what the Earth Guardian's group relies on," Vortex said. "And if they're removed of that...well, easier for us to get them away from interfering with my plan."
"Ah...th-that makes sense," Vexus gulped. Still doesn't make it any less dangerous, he told himself.
Finally, they were at a large hill that Vexus knew marked the ending of the Land of Yin. Vortex headed for the hill, starting to climb it, and Vexus followed him.
At the top of the hill, there was black smoke that was rising up higher and higher into the sky - separating the Land of Yin from the Land of Yang. Vexus was sure that, on the other side, it wasn't black smoke. The black smoke fit the Land of Yin. It certainly couldn't fit the Land of Yang.
Vortex padded alongside the smoke wall, and Vexus followed. The Protectors could attack us at any moment, Vexus realized. If they saw Vexus and Vortex walking along the border, that was a good excuse to send them back at the best; kill them at the worst.
The rest of the walk was, thankfully, uneventful. Vortex and Vexus made it to a large cave; at the entrance were two pillars, lit with fire, revealing the mouth of the cavern. Vortex didn't hesitate to dive inside. Vexus reluctantly followed inside.
As they kept walking - Vexus sticking to Vortex's smell for guidance, which strangely smelled of death - and they went deeper into the cave. Vexus couldn't see anything.
Suddenly, Vexus could see. He noticed there were torches on the wall and hieroglyphics on the wall. But it appeared to be a dead end.
Vortex walked up to the hieroglyphics, examining them. He then growled. "Pathetic riddle," he hissed, "don't they realize you don't need to solve this puzzle to get to the Father Stones?"
Vexus watched as Vortex's eyes glowed, and then the wall exploded. Crying out, Vexus went flying back and landed hard on the floor. He scrambled to his paws to see Vortex hadn't moved at all. "Well? Come on."
Nodding, Vexus quickly padded after Vortex into a new room. Light filtered in from a crack in the ceiling, and Vexus could see that, at the back of the room, were two large stones that were sitting on pillars. Light came in, shining on the stones. Vortex approached them.
"The precious Father Stones," he mocked. "Oh, how important they are to the Earth Guardian and their friends." Not quite knowing what to say, Vexus sat down. "But of course...once these Stones are removed, this group's powers will be weakened." Vortex eyed the Stone on the left.
"Bending Stone," Vortex commented. "Their connection with the elements..."
Vortex's eyes glowed harshly and the Bending Stone flew out of its pillar. The light that had been shining on the pillar disappeared. "...Gone," Vortex smiled.
Vexus then watched as Vortex approached the stone on the right, which still had light shining on it. "Peacebender Stone. This is how the dead communicate with the living. This is how the Earth Guardian and their friends will know what to do. But say...this Stone wasn't connecting those two worlds? Well, the Earth Guardian won't know what to do now. Oh, dear..."
Vortex's eyes glowed and the Peacebender Stone flew out of the pillar.
The light that had previously been there left.
"And now we have the utmost advantage," Vortex gave an unsettling grin.

Author's Note:
Sorry I haven't posted in a while! D: Hope this makes up for it...
Oh, and kudos to whoever can guess the name pattern in Ophir's family! :)
Hint: "The Toughest Race on Earth".

Chapter 38: The Forgetful Shaman

Misty was at a beach at the base of a cliff. The sun was setting, and waves lapped at the shore, her paws standing in the water. She looked in the distance, thinking about nothing in particular. All that could be heard was the sounds of the waves coming up to her.
On a rock nearby, three ravens perched. They each had red eyes. Misty found this a bit odd, but didn't fret about it as she looked at the ravens, who seemed to be studying her closely.
Then, a raven screeched and the two others joined it. Misty lay down and covered her ears with her front paws from the noise. She looked to see the first raven to screech was expanding into a shadow, yet its head still was there, its eyes glowing bright red and screeches coming from its gray beak. Eventually the whole landscape was covered in blackness. The raven's head disappeared, and the screeching died out.
Now Misty was floating in an endless black void. She sat there, not quite knowing what to do, as she kept floating. Then, something appeared in the shadows.
It was white, and it was in a smoke-like form. with large wings. It appeared to be a wolf. Misty watched as it stood there, looking around, as smoke flew off of it. Then, something black came from the shadows as well, with red eyes like the ravens. It spread its wings, and Misty saw it, as well, was a wolf. It also seemed smokey. As soon as the black and white wolf made eye contact, they shrieked and lunged at each other, looking prepared to kill one another. The place shook and then Misty's vision went black.


Misty woke up. She looked around to see Rhett and Koro in the corner, talking to each other. Campbell was still asleep, and so were Adele, Glory and Bracken. Lephos and Sidew were nowhere to be found. They were in a large room that was reserved for "important guests", as Lilypaka had explained.
She got to her paws, the dream she had still playing back in her head. None of it made sense to Misty. She made her way for the exit, and two guards on the outside turned her way. "Goddess of the Earth! Hello!" they exclaimed, bowing deeply.
"Is there a dream-interpreter?" Misty asked.
"A what?" one of the guards asked. He had a stick-spear, and a headband made of grass.
"Someone who knows what dreams mean," Misty replied.
"Go and see Busara! She shall tell you," the other guard insisted.
"Where's Busara?" Misty asked.
"To the Council, and hang a left!" The headband-guard exclaimed.
"But you mustn't walk to the room! I shall carry you," the other guard puffed out his chest.
"No! I will!" The headband-guard said. "I am the strongest!"
"Like heck you are!" the other guard hollered, tackling the headband-guard. They began wrestling on the ground, and Misty slipped away, looking over her shoulder at the two fighting meerkats.
Misty walked for the wooden stairs. Sunlight came in from the hole at the top of the tree. Tons of meerkats were out and about, and they all saluted to Misty as she trotted past. Misty headed for the Council's room. No members of the Council were to be found. She assumed they were either fighting again or all asleep.
Misty went left for a door she hadn't noticed before. She ducked into a door and squeezed through. It lead to a darkened room. The only source of light was from a hole in the wall that served as a window. There was a piece of wood that had a green-gray orb on it, and candles around it that were unlit. There was a bird-like thing Misty had never seen before sleeping in the corner. It had yellow feathers, and was definitely not a songbird. It had red on top of its beak and under. Since the bird's feet were nowhere to be seen, Misty assumed the bird was sleeping on them.
"Hello?" Misty called. No response. "Busara...?"
Suddenly, a brown female meerkat with a purple flower on her ear popped up from behind the orb. "Oh! Hellloooo!" she greeted Misty. "How can I assist you? Perhaps I could predict your future, or I could interpret a dream--"
"Interpret a dream, please," Misty said.
"Ooh! I love dreams. Dreams are the most interesting things ever!" Busara exclaimed. "Who are you?"
"Misty," Misty replied.
"Ah! Misty! Wonderful name," Busara smiled. She walked over to the bird and ruffled its feathers with her paw. "Isn't that a cool name, Berry? 'Misty'. I wish I had a name like that." The bird woke up and made a clucking sound. Definitely not any bird sound Misty had ever heard. "Wait...what's my name again?" Busara frowned. "I think it was something along the lines of--"
"Busara?" Misty frowned, confused about how Busara forgot her own name.
"Ohhhh! That's right!" Busara exclaimed. She ran up to Misty. "You're a wolf! Such lovely fur. I wish I were a wolf. I think I'm a meerkat?" Busara examined herself. "Meerkat, yeah."
"Uh...can you help me, please?" Misty asked.
"Ah! What do you want help with?" Busara said.
"A dream interpretation...?" Misty tilted her head in confusion.
"Dreams! I love dreams," Busara grinned. "Now, who are you?"
"Misty," Misty replied, getting a bit irritated.
"Wonderful name!" Busara exclaimed. "My name's Busara. I wish my name was something like 'Misty'. Don't you, Bury?" Busara turned to the bird.
"I thought its name was Berry," Misty said.
"Oh yeaaahhh! Thanks for the reminder. Now, what do you want help with?" Busara asked.
"A dream interpretation!" Misty snapped. "I already told you, and this is, like, the third time!"
"It is?" Busara grimaced.
"YES," Misty growled.
"Ohhhh..." Busara grabbed her arm with her other hand nervously. "Uh...sorry. I have...short-term memory loss. Runs in my family."
"Short-term memory loss," Misty echoed. "Are you related to the Pakas?"
"Pakas?" Busara echoed. "Sounds like a cool name. Maybe. But I dunno. Anyways, what are you here for again?"
"A. Dream. Interpretation," Misty grumbled.
"Okay! What was the dream like?" Busara asked, perking up.
"Well, I was first at a beach--" Misty began.
"The beach!" Busara exclaimed in wonder. "I love beaches! I just love the sun, the water, the sand--"
"Yeah, well...then three ravens appeared," Misty continued. "And--"
"Ravens? Blech. I hate ravens," Busara frowned. "Whenever they see Berry out and about, they swoop down at him! Don't they, Berry?" Busara ruffled the bird's feathers again, and it made another noise before turning back to look into space.
"--Then there were two winged wolves. They fought and tried to kill each other," Misty explained.
"Ugh, that sounds so depressing. I don't know if I even like this dream anymore," Busara frowned. "Is that all? I hope it is, because this dream is going downhill."
"It is," Misty confirmed.
Busara nodded and grabbed the orb, studying it intently. She moved it around in her paws, as if trying to take in every detail she possibly could. Misty noticed that Berry seemed to be eyeing Busara, as if the bird was curious. Misty found herself leaning forward as Busara's face screwed up in further concentration, wondering what the meerkat was going to say.
The orb then uncurled, revealing itself to be a bug. Busara popped it into her mouth with a smile.
Misty grimaced.
"What? It's my breakfast!" Busara protested. She then ducked under the table and pulled out a clear orb, but this one definitely looked legit. She then moved her paws on the orb and purple, yellow and red swirls appeared into it. Misty gaped at the beautiful orb and felt herself being drawn closer to it. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the bird was looking a bit fearful and it flapped its wings in alarm, scooting further into its corner as if trying to get away from the orb but unwilling to run away.
"The Peacebenders call for your assistance!" Busara exclaimed. Misty was alarmed to realize her voice had changed. "You and your friends must journey to the land of Yin and Yang and stop them from their fight! Or everyone is doomed!"
Busara then grew wide-eyed and shook her head. "Phew! Sorry, got knocked out there for a minute." She then smiled and looked at Misty. "Ah! A visitor! What can I help you with? Perhaps I can predict your future, or--"
"Wait, what?" Misty said. "But--"
"You want me to predict your future?" Busara asked.
"There's got to be more!" Misty exclaimed.
"More to what?" Busara said.
Misty sighed in frustration, then left the room. She passed the Council, who were all fighting and punching each other once more. Misty didn't even bother trying to break them apart, as she headed down the steps and to her guest room.
"Guys, you'll never belie--"
She then gasped to see a concerned Koro standing by Bracken, whose teeth were gritted and his paws were on his head. "Make it stop! Make it stooop!" he cried.
"What happened?" Misty ran over.
"He got a headache and won't stop whining about it!" Campbell yelled.
"I don't think it's an ordinary headache. It seems incredibly severe," Koro commented. He looked straight at Misty. "Is there like, a Healer or anything here?"
Misty was unable to look Koro in the eye. "There's this shaman...but she won't be any good. Short term memory loss..."
"I don't want this headache!" Bracken wailed. "Take it away!"
"It should wear off eventually," Rhett shrugged. "I mean, it's just a headache..."
"Yeah, but I don't know how much more Bracken can stand of this," Koro pointed out.
"I'm going for a walk," Glory insisted, "I can't stand to see others in pain." She headed out the door.
"Where were you, anyway?" Campbell trotted over to Misty.
"With the shaman," Misty muttered. "And she told me something..."

Author's Note:
Haven't made a chapter in a while, been busy. :c Hope this makes up for it.