From the air, Gem Fido seemed rather stereotypical, rocky, dotted with a few forests here and there, but mostly mountains and caves spanned the land scape. On the ground however, it had a completely different atmosphere. It was as if the entire land had gone into disrepair, and nature was hanging on by a thread. The bark of the trees had become soft from the various geysers that erupted steam, to the point where we could peel it off, revealing the rotting tree beneath. Although the trees themselves had died, the leaves however were still green. I wondered how.

"Gem Fido's been dead long before the dragons took over," Ubi remarked, as if having read my thoughts, "I should know, this was my home."

"Wait, you were a native to Gem Fido? Then, how come we found you in the Dominion?" Eol asked, curious of Ubi's origin.

"Yes. Our clan turned nomadic after our last warren became completely exhausted, I was 8 at the time. We traveled all the way across the Keaton Range to get to the Dominion." He continued, taking a dagger to cut through some overhanging vines.

"Don't touch the ends, the poison will eat your skin alive." Eol looked at the vine with a look of nervous caution.

"Wow, not even any of my books on Gem Fido mentioned those."

"No one takes the time to explore something that could kill them in an instant." Ubi stated before continuing on. I took his words to heart as we neared the Oblong Tomb.

The structure was enormous, towering at the very least 7 stories high. We stood in awe at the sheer aura emanating from within, it seemed unnatural, evil almost. I signaled for both of them to scout the perimeter for any who might be watching us. Immediately, Ubi fired an arrow at a seemingly inconspicuous bush, rewarded by a scout jumping out from cover to avoid the arrow. Eol was on him in an instant, pinning him to the ground. I drew my sword and pointed it at the scout.

"What have we here?" The scout seemed rather unphased by my blade, a hardened warrior, no doubt. I lowered it.

"Do you mind telling us why you were spying on us?"

"That would be my doing." Our heads turned towards the entrance to the warren, barred by a black figure, tall and sleek, an Alpha no doubt. "My apologies for the rather distasteful welcome, we always have a few scouts on hand in case of a stray intruder. Allow me to welcome you to the Oblong Tomb." He greeted us with a toothy smile, fangs serrated to a lethal point.

"Impossible." Ubi and Eol stood amazed, "You-You're..." Eol stuttered, pointing a shaking claw at the black Alpha.

"Varg of the Oblong Tomb." Ubi finished.

"The one and only," he crossed his arms with pride, "You forgot to mention Underking of Gem Fido."

"Underking?" I look towards Varg with interest, "What's that?" He looked at me, bewildered before remembering something.

"That's right, you're the one that He wanted me to see..." A raise of an eyebrow was all that was needed for him to continue, "I'll explain later, meanwhile, come inside, the guards will let you in." He waved a paw, beckoning us to follow. Growl's words reminded me, it clicked in the other two as well.

"How are you still ALIVE?" To that he merely turned around and laughed.

"Like I said, I'll explain THAT little morsel as well," He replied with a rather devilish grin before disappearing into the warren.

Inside, the warren was lit up vibrantly by various crystals that glistened with a faint magical aura, the ground laden with soft damp moss, the warren itself seemed alive, teeming with vigor. The two guards escorted us down a side tunnel, a faint disharmonious chorus reaching our ears, becoming louder with each passing step. We reached what seemed like a dinning room, diamond dogs, ponies and griffins as well lined the tables, drinking and eating as well as consorting and singing obscene rounds. A closer look at the group revealed many bearing pale complexions, as if they were dead.

"AOI!" I heard a voice behind me, one all too familiar. I turned around to meet none other than Keith, dining a few tables down. I was surprised to see him here of all places, he got up holding a tankard of ale in his hoof, staggering sap happily towards me, he slapped a hoof on my shoulder, swashing the ale back and forth.

"Man it's DAMN fine to see you here *burp*."

"Keith, what are you doing here?"

"Oh aye? Nothin' much, and hey, I'm NOT as think as you drunk I am *hic*." He turned around and started wobbling back to the bench where he sat, plopping down on it with a thud.

"I started prancing around like you said to, met some nice ponies along the way, and somehow stumbled Inna Gem Fidy here." He was clearly plastered, his coat wreaking of alcohol. I gave a welcoming smile.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're doing alright."

"Damn right I AM! I may not be a good *hic* good-looking guy, but I know one thing Bitches will always love."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Bitches LOVE ponies," He started to break into a fit of drunken laughter, "Betcha thought I was gonna say cannons werencha? Well cannons can suck my-- oh there goes my tolerance." He lost consciousness, slowly tipping over, I caught him in the crook of my arm.

"You really had a party didn't you?" I looked around the crowd, all ate and drank from the same plate and cup, none caring that they were different species.

"Admiring our haven aren't you?" Varg asked, standing beside me. I passed a glance between him, Ubi and Eol, who had taken up seats on the bench. "It really is a shame, that we cannot bring this haven to the rest of Gem Fido..." He had look of shame.

"As you might have noticed, we do not belong in this world. We are of the dead, unfit to walk amongst the living, and yet we live once again. I ask you, how might that be?"

"I don't know... magic?"

"Yes... magic that breaks the very bounds of nature, If you want to talk more, Let’s speak in private, for now, I believe your comrades deserve the rest."

We headed down a side corridor to what seemed like a massive throne room, in the very middle was a throne laced with bones from all manners of creatures. He sat down slowly on his throne.

"So, you are the Lunar Legend that has appeared in Equestria." he stated, running his eyes up and down my figure, "I've never seen any with a choice of clothing such as yourself. Tell me... what is it that brings you to Gem Fido?" He gestured to a servant to bring over a chair for me to sit. I thought a bit, composing the list in my head.

"Many things,first and foremost, my heart goes out to those under the oppressive rule of many of the Alphas of Gem Fido, and so I made up my mind to liberate Gem Fido."

"Oh, you and what army?"

"It's just us three," I clenched my fists in embarrassment, "It only recently came to my attention that we had no auxiliary troops to support us. Thankfully I didn't decide to engage in any of the clans."

"And why not?"

"Basic Military Strategy, a trickle of a stream cannot surpass a dam made to block it. I have my doubts on whether I can effectively lead at all." He looked at me sympathetically.

"I see what you mean, it is good that you've made it this far, but I must ask, why come here? From what I can tell, you seek no hostile intent."

"That's the thing, I came here on a whim, all because of a... vision... if you could call it. Before then, I had no sense of direction, no starting point on how I was going to start my campaign. I'm not ready to start a war, no risk the lives of those around me."

"You've gotten this far, and everyone's alive, aren't they?"

"Small skirmishes I can handle on my own, but I'm not strong enough to take on clans with more organization and manpower than I do. Right now I'm just buying time to think."

"You are wise to do so." He shifted on his throne to place his feet on a footrest. "I have seen many Alpha's who have been in your position, who plotted to take Gem Fido from the Sirius, so confident that they soon fell on their own swords, all because they were itching for war. It is nice to see one such as yourself willing to wait until he has gathered his objectives in order."

"I've been meaning to ask, How did Keith get here?"

"Keith?"

"Or Auburn as you might know him..."

"Oh..." He chuckled, "We found him passed out trying to find refuge near our warren. By our code, we swear to give sanctuary to all who seek it." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you don't mind me asking, why hasn't the Sirius taken any action to stop the Alphas?" He scoffed.

"He's been fighting for everyone, trying his hardest to settle peace negotiations with the dragons... with no success." Varg slouched on his throne, a look of defeat on his face, "Since the Fall out of the Griffin Dominion, The dragons took advantage, taking the Dominion and Gem Fido in one fell swoop. Alphas are strong, yes, but not even 10 can stand up to a black dragon. Which brings us to you."

"Me?"

"We are the last lunar wolves in existence in Equus, and I'm tired of fighting. I put up my sword centuries ago, hoping that with my position as Underking, I could help spread a message of peace throughout the clans. However, being dead has its disadvantages." He held up his arm to reveal a gaping gash underneath his arm, muscle torn away giving way to a stained white bone.

"But you, you are still alive, whats more, you've shown your resolve by freeing one clan already."

"How do you know that?"

"Heh, with MY information network, word travels like lightning. I remember than clan, and Ensin. Cheeky rat bastard, didn't deserve to have lycan blood in his veins." He shook his head at the mention of the dead Alpha.

"I look upon you and I know I see a warrior, bred for battle, am I right?"

"Not necessarily."

"Don't give me that scat, I can tell. You're forged from the fires of war: assassinations, battles, and many victories. Had you been in my former clan, you'd have stood right at my side as equals." He sighed, reminiscing about things long forgotten, "Those were the days when honor meant something, the days of proud warriors. Now all we have are sniveling remnants, the blood and fire of warriors have thinned out and died down, dwindling with each passing generation. But I can still tell a warrior just by looking at him, and another wolf no less... tell me, have you started gorging yourself lately?"

"Only on the captain's ship, once, after a training exercise." To this he chuckled.

"A word of advice, if your body bids you to run, you run, If your body bids you to fight, you fight, Through this, I guarantee, you'll get stronger."

I paused for a bit, drinking in what he had said, about getting stronger, about the allegiances of the other clans, and about what I could do next.

"Early, you told me that magic defying the laws of nature was keeping you and your clan bound to this world, care to elaborate?"

"Ah yes, that subject." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Believe it or not, I was having a nice time being dead, when something, I'm not sure what, brought me back to life, wounds still fresh except for the last fatal one."

"I see..." I stood up slow. "I thank you for your hospitality, pardon if we have overstayed our welcome in any way."

"Leaving so soon?" I paused, thinking. I had nowhere else to be, no plan in motion, no hurry. I almost forgot why I cam here in the first place.

"Do you have any idea why I'm here?" I looked back.

"An inkling," he answered with a wide grin, "But, if you really want to know, You're going to have to earn it..."

I cocked my head to the side, "How so?"

"It's simple, a traditional clan test of strength and skill... judging by what you've told me so far, arriving here has been your only lead to what to do next. So, what will it be?" he bridged his fingers together, poised with a smug look on his face.

"What kind of test?"

The crowd was cheering for us, both sides had their fans. Varg's clan members roared their support for their leader, while Ubi, Eol, Keith, and some of the others cheered for me. We stood inside a ring traced around us, enough to give us room to maneuver, but not enough to run away.

"First one to have a body part touch outside the ring loses." He explained. Two warriors came and placed thin cloth wrappings over our claws.

"What are these for?"

"Any techniques acceptable, but no claws or blades, this is a duel, not a killing field." He took a strip of cloth and wrapped it around both his fists. An attendant offered to wrap mine, but I declined.

"Looks like we've drawn quite a crowd..." I remark, looking over the audience. The crowd seemed to extend by the hundreds as if we were at the very middle of a coliseum.

"Of course, quite literally, this is a fight for the centuries, there hasn't been a good match between two wolves since, well, I'm sure you know..." He replies, taking off his cape and sash, as well as his royal jacket. I take of my dobuku and shed my kosode off of my shoulders. Many of the females in the crowd give wanton looks at both of our figures, some even giving audible 'wolf-whistles'.

"You are familiar with this sort of sport, are you not?" He asked. I nodded in reply.

"Is something the matter?" I stayed silent, mulling it over in my mind.

"Tell you what, If you win, I'll tell you..."

"I think you mean when I win." He took an offensive stance, fists raised at the ready. I took an empty stance, shifting the weight to my rear leg.

We circled the arena once, sizing up stances, positioning, weight, as well as the leading attack. A flare of light from his eyes gave the signal, and the fight began. He came at me with a low cross, I brought up my elbow to intercept, shifting to my front leg, bringing my knee forward straight into Varg's solar plexus. Without notice, he followed with a hook to my jaw. My mouth snapped shut, almost biting into my tongue. I reeled back, skidding on the dirt ground, nursing my throbbing jaw bone.

'I was sure I hit him.' He stood with his fists posed on his hips, giving a hearty laugh.

"Was that meant to bring me to my knees? I'm sorry, but a single knee to the stomach won't end the fight that easily." I stayed silent, returning to my stance. My turn to take the offensive. I rushed towards him, shifting my weight to the left. He responded with a low sweep to my legs. I Jumped into the air, turning my body to deliver a devastating scissor kick to the side of his head, feeling the crack of bone underneath his fur. Out of nowhere, I felt my leg grabbed by his paws. He twisted my leg midair and tossed me to the ground, face first. I felt my knee give out, twisted in a way it wasn't suppose too, my nose caving in on impact. He saw his advantage, and bore down on my leg, bringing my foot up to my back, pinning me to the ground.

"Picked that move up in Tartarus." He said with a smile. I growled, clenching my teeth for what I was about to do. I flooded my veins with adrenaline, jerking violently at my leg. A sickening crack followed, but I felt the joint in my knee dislocate, I seized my chance, bringing my free foot to slam Varg's smug expression to the ground. His grip loosened, and I slipped free, going into a grounded stance on my knee, panting heavily. He got back up cracking his neck back into place with a spine tingling snap.

"That was unexpected, you dislocated you knee to free yourself, that had to hurt." I grit my teeth and place both paws on my dangling leg. One quick motion locked it back into place with a pop, pain flooded my leg. A loud roar escaping my lips, causing all standing near me to flinch. Although weakened, I could stand on my leg again.

"Let's go..." I shifted to a drop stance, thigh parallel to the ground, rear leg extending.

"Wow, for a young one, you sure do have a lot of tolerance for pain. What's your secret?" It hit me then. He was taking the full force of my attacks without so much as flinching, could he know longer feel any pain, or was he just taking hits?

"Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine." I waved my fingers towards me, the universal sign for what Keith calls...

"AWWWWWW SHIEEEET!" Keith yelled from the crowd, "Come at me, BRO!" After all these years, he still hasn't changed.

"With pleasure..." Varg cracked his knuckles and charged with surprising speed.

'Gotcha...' I picked up a rock between my toes and brought it to my paw, grasping it. I shifted to my bow stance again, lunging forward with my paw, shooting the rock with my thumb right between the eyes. He dodges to the left, bringing his fist forward in a swift jab. I counter with an open paw, the two contacting with a loud smack. I pull on his paw past me, bringing my free elbow down onto his occipital ridge. A gasp of air escaped before he fell to the ground. I backed away a few yards, he wasn't down just yet. Sure enough, he got back up to his feet, dazed but still functional.

"So you can feel pain..." I wiped my nose of the blood tricking down it, wincing at the pain. A look in his eyes told all, eyes shaking, a light sway. A hit like that would have knocked out a person instantly. I could tell I wasn't up against a regular person.

"Of course I do, I just do a good job of hiding it," He pointed at me, swaying, "Why are there two of you now?"

I wasn't sure whether he was toying with me or actually delusional. I wouldn't take any chances. I took a deep breath, exhaling deeply, slowing down time.

'Remember what they taught you... nerves control everything, sever the nerve, and the body will fall.' I remembered my claws tied up, but that didn't mean I couldn't still do what I needed. I wiggled my digits, feeling them limber up, ready to strike.

Traumatized solar plexus, fractured right jaw, dazed nervous system, sensory system erratic. I could feel it, each weak point and strike are open to me, all I had to do was execute. Harder than it sounds. One misread could leave me wide open.

"Ikimasu... (Go)" I dash towards him, immediately closing the distance between us in less than a second. He springs his trap, going for a drunken roundhouse. I vault over him, pirouetting to reach his backside. He reads this and brings his back elbow to intercept my jab. I react quickly, releasing my fist and grabbing his arm. I strike with a two fingered stab to his exposed Golgi tendon, feeling the arm go limp. With a solid stance, I bring my arm back, push backwards on my rear leg, reinforcing my uppercut ten fold into his elbow. A deep resounding snap is heard throughout the ring, making many of the spectators cringe and groan, one even vomiting. Varg lets out a pained yowl, yanking his arm away from my grip.

I continue my onslaught, closing the distance again, lunging at his throat, catching him in a vice grip.

"GACK!" I tense my muscles and snap my fingers together, letting go immediately. He clenches his throat with one paw and lunges at me with the other, I block with a back hand and fracture his right jaw with a punishing heel kick. He reels back, I grab his arm and slide my elbow into his jugular, bringing more pain to his throat. I let go and crouch low, curling my wrist backwards to strike with a four fingered stab to the back of his knee, his leg bending forward on impact. I brace one paw on the ground and bring my fist forward in a debilitating blow to the front part of his knee, bending it grotesquely backwards. I slide on the ground to his backside, grabbing one of his arms and corkscrewing it around to his back, with that I deliver a sharp four fingered stab to the brachial plexus, loosening his arms. I step back and drive my palm into his shoulder blade, dislocating his shoulder entirely from its socket as he jerks forward from the impact. I grab his waist and jump back a few feet, then bending backwards into a full suplex, the Underking's head slamming into the ground, kicking up dust in every direction.

Fractured jaw, traumatized solar plexus, shattered knee caps, torn ligaments in the elbow as well as broken humerus, damaged trachea, dislocated shoulder, ripping nerves in 3 anatomical places, and near fatal concussive condition. In short, he'll be lucky to even walk the next morning.

After the rush of adrenaline fades from my system, fatigue hits me like a 50 mph freight train, having used up nearly all the energy I had. I pass out due to sheer mental and physical exhaustion.

I wake up in a bed not my own, shadowed by Ubi, Eol, Keith, and a few female diamond dogs. I look to my left to find Varg in the same state, shadowed my many female diamond dogs, he was covered with various bandages, while I had a splint around my right leg and a bandage wrapping my muzzle.

"Shit bro, looks like you already got some bitches tailin' you." Keith stated, pointing a hoof at the females surrounding my bedside.

"MRF ABF VGR (What about Varg)." My speech muffled through my bandages, having sealed my mouth shut.

"He's fine, relatively speaking, and wanted to give you the message for when you woke up."

"RI CHI (Which is?)"

"You managed to get his ear out of the ring with that last suplex, and might I say, Overkill much?" Keith remarked with a large grin plastered on his face. I glared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nevermind, If you need me, I'll be hitting the booze and hitting the hay. See ya later, Aoi-gater. And YES, that was meant to be a bad pun." Eol and Ubi stared at him. "Right, Sizzle, Losing, Bye..." He bolted out of the room. I unwrapped the bandages from around muzzle, a little sore, but nothing worse for the wear.

"I guess we're staying here for a few days. I'm sorry for delaying us like this." I knew it was my fault, I was too rash in that fight, too unprepared, and now I had a torn knee because of it.

"Well, it's not like we have anything else to do in the meantime, I'm not even sure why we came here in the first place." It hit me that I had won the fight, therefore entitled to why I came here in the first place. I shot up from my bed before a sharp pain shot through my entire body, causing me to fall back into the bed.

"Take it easy, Aoi, I don't know what you did, but it wiped you out pretty bad. Your body was on fire when we brought you in." I remembered what happens when I overly used it.

=1 year ago=

"Okay, Aoi, when your ready, fire her up!" Keith said with vigor, having secured the last biomedical sensor to my body.

"Right, here I go." How Keith told me to do it was to think of it like commanding my body with my thoughts rather than will.

'Release Adrenaline.' I felt my heart rate shoot up rapidly, my muscles tensing to move.

"WHOA AOI TURN IT DOWN!"

'Stop!' After a while my heart rate returned to normal.

"Yeah we are DEFINITELY gonna need to work on that a bit, but so far the adrenaline functionality works, but be careful with it. What I'm guessing is that you should only use it if you are hurt, as more of a sedative and booster. I swear, when you did it, your EKG Shot up to 302 BPM, you almost shot out your heart."

"Strange, I don't feel any- AAAAH!!!!" My heart felt like it was on fire, I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"AOI!" He rushed over an injected me with something, after a few seconds the burning stop, but I was motionless afterward.

"Well THAT happened. You're lucky I'm here. Okay, so I dosed you with a mild sedative along with a slur of cell repairing enzymes, you should be standing within about 30 minutes, meanwhile, just... don't do anything stupid. You know, like, move..." It wasn't like I really had a choice, I couldn't move anything in my body, not even able to close my mouth.

"Okay, let me think about this for a second." He sat back down in his chair, mulling over the vast amount of papers on his desk, "Let's see, according to the Alpha wave to Beta wave output ratio, complete control... dododobadaba... space..." after a few minutes of shuffling through the notes, he shot up from his chair, "GASP! I've fucking done it!" He looked back at me in jubilation, "According to the results, your Alpha and Beta waves produced the intended result."

'NO SHIT!' I screamed in the back of my mind.

"Analyzing the results, I think it's more of a floodgate kind of thing, if no restrictions are applied, like dosage and amount, your body just assumes to go full throttle, like if you were really in danger." I felt the drool sliding out of my open mouth.

"Right, a vegetable, at least you can hear me. At least, I HOPE that's what you're doing."

'Like I could do anything else...'

"Oh good, you can hear me. So take it easy for a few days, actually, try releasing a small amount of steroid, like say... 10 cc."

'Release 10cc's of steroids.' A pain shot through my chest, bring me to attention immediately, I gasped for air like a fish out of water. After a few deep breaths, I felt my sovereignty over my muscles return.

"Well that worked out swimmingly. So anyway, just take it easy for about a week, that means no 'jobs' doc's orders, even though that's the last thing I said before losing my medical license."

"What?"

"Never mind, Also, you MAY fell a helluva lot tired, depends. Do you consume at least 10,000 calories?"

"T-Ten Thousand Calories?"

"I take it that’s a.... no.... In that case you are definitely gonna be sore in the morning. After all, they do say that the brain is the hungriest muscle in the human body, consuming over 25% of stored energy just for daily function. Now, take that normal energy consumption the brain uses, and instead of spreading that energy consumption over a long period of time, i.e. an entire day, and then overclock the SHIT out of it more than a supercomputer, basically increasing the amount of electrical packets, and what commands they contain, as well as some foreign commands that I added for extra oomph, and do that in in the time span of about a minute, and you've got the energy demands that pretty much mandate that you inhale Triple Whoppers."

"So, now I have to eat more?"

"By how much you work out? You burn that many calories just by breathing due to afterburn. So yeah, better hit the steaks and Mickey D's, bruh." He took a sip out of a Styrofoam cup.

"Also, good thing to know, mind altering drugs act differently, so think twice before reaching for a pep pill, Imma be honest, this whole time I've been throwing science at the wall to see what sticks, so whatever neurological and psychological shit that happens, I'll take full responsibility for, don't worry, I'm pretty sure with the right amount of reconstructive therapy, any negative side effects can be mostly negated."

"Ahem, mostly?"

"When you sobered me up and gave me the funding I needed, I got a cat scan of your brain, also a neuron-wave profile, kind of like a blueprint for your noggin."
'

"When did you do this?"

"Well, you know... when you're, not looking..." I stared at him. "OKAY! I did it when you were asleep one night, damn you've got a stare almost as lethal as Fluttershy's, almost."

=Present=

I took a few breaths and relaxed in my bed, thinking.

'Now's not the time to be doing anything at the moment, for now, take this time and plan. Now, what do we need?' We needed troops, a clan behind us that will give us much needed support. Eol's former clan was in the Dominion, too far away to reach, but we could travel back there if need be.

'That's a start, make that the last thing you need to do, since it would be counter productive to leave Gem Fido when we just arrived, wouldn't want to waste any more time. Now, second, we know that some clans will believe you are the lunar legend, but others will be unwilling, what can we show them as proof.' Growl said that there was a... council that decided prophecy.

'Perfect, if we can convince them to give us a token or seal, something to show to the other clans, that will be our proof. Make that a high priority objective. Now, an optional thing, but important nonetheless, we'll need to communicate not only with the Alpha's, but the dragon 'guardians' as well.' That would be a problem, unless they are as wise as Blackfire, most wouldn't even listen.

'Precisely, more than likely the only route we can take with dragons is intimidation, proof that you're a dragon slayer means nothing when your twenty times shorter than them.' If things did go south, I needed to be ready. I had to work on feats of intimidation, something that would make mighty beasts flinch at the sight of it.

'A challenge, most dragons are proud in nature, condescending. What better way to break down one's pride than by taking them down a notch in a challenge. Now, what are dragons known for?" Fiery breath, prominent voices, hard scales...

'... and you have a blade that can cut dragon scale, forged by yourself, no less." With everything set out, I had to organize it.

'First, hopefully, we can request the aid of some of Varg's clan members, a sort of escort group. With most of them undead, they can take a beating, therefore very useful as combat units.' One thing still bothered me, it was one of the reasons I came to Gem Fido in the first place, the Stars of Lupus, something I knew absolutely nothing about.

"You seem troubled..." A vague familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. I sat up to see a large white and red wolf sitting in front of our beds. I looked to my left to see Varg sitting upright, seeming perfectly healthy.

"Well now, finally up now, Aoi was it? Sorry, I'm terrible at names," He said nonchalantly. I looked back at the Red and white wolf, who seemed rather ethereal in appearance and form.

"This is the one who 'called' you here to Gem Fido," I looked back, trying to make the connection.

"You're the one who told gave Blackfire the message? In all sense, how and why?" I wanted answers.

"If you haven't guessed already, I am the Guardian spirit of all canine species and breeds of these two worlds. I am Inugami, the romanized 'Dog God'. Remember the man who appeared in your apartment building?" It clicked in my mind.

"THAT WAS YOU?!" He merely nodded and walked over to Varg.

"I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I'm always honor bound to hold up my end of a wager," Varg interrupted, " You won that match fair and square, even though it was only by an ear's length. you won nonetheless. So there you have it, why you are here in the Oblong Tomb, and yes, he's told me that you aren't from this universe." I look around, Eol and Ubi nowhere to be seen. I look back at Inugami.

"How much did you tell him?"

"Just that you aren't from here, and that you are what people say you are, even though you yourself doubt it."

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"Prophecy doesn't just happen, someone makes it happen, whether it be god, demon, mortal, or spirit. You are here because I brought you here, and what you do is your own choice. However, I did bring you here because I thought you could fill in the blanks." I stroked my hair, taking it all in. He made a valid point, that prophecy is rather a vague fallacy, only fulfilled by action, not a simple divination. But...

"... Why ME?" The million yen question.

"Who really knows how I came to meet you in the first place, but I chose you because I know you: strong, powerful, uncaring of greed or fame, impartial in judgment, but respectful of any life, be it one taken... or saved. Or maybe it's because over the years, I've developed an affinity to all who have sought revenge." He hesitated on the last part, giving me cause for pressing further.

"What do you mean by saved?" With that, Inugami sat poised, as if a dog to his master.

"I know you personally, having followed you near your entire life."

"If you're a god, aren't you suppose to know?"

"I forget often how mortals are unbeknownst to how things work on the spiritual plane. I'm not a true god, only a god, if you can even call me that, by affliction. I'm not omniscient, but I've known you since you were four, since that day. Believe it or not, we've met before..." At that, his eyes turned sad, dulling to a depressing maroon.

"... a long time ago, you once called me 'Stray'..." The word shot me through the heart like a lead bullet. I only knew one which I called stray...

"Nora?"