An Alternate Future

[petdr89]

Strips jerked his head swiftly so it popped, thinking about how this would go down. He had his gun pointed solely at the female now, ignoring the jetsam. "Now see, I dunno if I can trust someone whom I don't know the name of." Of course, he didn't have a whole lot of room to talk. Him being a Darigan, he didn't see how they would be able to trust him, and they probably shouldn't trust him either.

He figured, if Shallo wanted to kill him, he would have done it by now. But this lupess now had a chance to kill him, and he couldn't be sure if she would or not. Still, he figured he'd give her the opportunity. "Alright, I suppose we are" he replied as he lowered and un-cocked his gun.

[Kiweh]

Dre smiled and lowered her's as well and nodded, "My name is Dreamato. I've been a ghost for almost three hundred years, working for the Dark Faerie. When she found out that I was against this war she thought that making me mortal again would be more agonizing than just killing me." Dre smiled matter-of-factly and put her gun back in her pocket. "Now I am wholly against her and all of this." She said and then looked over at the kougra, "I believe it's your turn now, Darigan." She said coldly.

[petdr89]

Strips cursed again, just not out loud this time. He remembered Dre too... He didn't like Dre. Eh, maybe I should have killed her he thought briefly. "Oh yes, I remember you as well." His reasons for disliking her were illogical, since she hadn't really done anything against him. But never-the-less, he blamed her for a lot of his problems. He blamed her for the nightmares he used to have, without really knowing if she had caused them or not. And he blamed her for having an influence on Azura, even though it was for Azura's benefit. "And how is Azura now a-days, anyway?" He asked, hoping to jog her memory rather than having to say his name. He still hated his name, and he hated saying it.

[Jukebox]

Shallo smirked as he lowered his gun, and crossed the room to one of the chests, pulling open the lid. He was listening in ont their conversation as he removed a few bundles from the chest, but all it had done was remind him of the reason he knew Dre. The fact that she was mortal know interested him, but he kept silent for now. Once he had removed three of the packets he shut the lid again, turning back and interupting them for a moment.

"Guessing by your state, and what most of the people we've rescuced so far are like, I'll assume the two of you havn't eaten in a while." he said, handing them each one of the wrapped bundles. They contained contained some Pyramibread and Sutek Muffins, as seen when he opened his as he sat down, watching them curiously.

[Kiweh]

Dre's eyes turned to the ground and a look of worry crossed her face, "I, uh, haven't seen or heard from them since this whole thing started..." She choked out and then looked back up at him, "I'm sure their fine though, Lue's with them...." She said and let out a long sigh. There was a short pause of silence before she cleared her throat, "So will you introduce yourself or shall I?" she asked but was then inturrupted by Shallo handing her a small bundle of food.

She watched him open his own and settle himself down. She looked back at the cloth wrapped package and smile, "Thanks." She said and unwrapped her own meal, looking at it for a while before picking a piece of it up and taking a bite of it.

[zash]

Zuri then woke in with a jump. “AAAAbbYYYY!!!” He breathed hard and came to the realization of what was going on. He was awake now and aware of his surrounding. “Oh yeah. Aaaaallright.” Zuri then stood up. He was more awake and recharged now. He looked around to make sure he didn’t have any body watching him or anything. He then took off into the air. He scoured the skies. He looked all around to make sure he wasn’t being followed. “Well I guess I should continue to where I was going. Off to the mountains.” Zuri was headed for the mountains that separated Shenkuu and Neopia Central and the other towns.

He flew as fast as he could. Eventually he could feel the cold of the mountains. He then looked around once more to make sure he wasn’t being followed. He eventually made it to a rebel base located out in the area. All you could see was several mounds of snow, covering everything. The base was well hidden in the snow, but Zuri had been here multiple times. In fact he has gone to any and all of the rebel bases, though there are few he does know where each one is located. He looked around for a hatch for a bit and finally found one. “Haha, there it is.” Zuri then opened his mouth and a small burst of flame came out. He melted the snow and the hatch was seeable now. He then pried the hatch open and stepped in, also, all this time he was making sure that no one else was around. He was in a long tunnel that connected to another door. He opened the door and you could see the hustle and bustle of all the people around.

“Zuri how you doin?”

Zuri looked over to see the “Commander” of the base. “Oh, hey. I’m good. I thought I’d come by and see how things were doing here. That and to just be able to maybe relax for a bit. Also I came to report. My squad was killed in our resent battle in Shenkuu. Ends up they had several guards there and it was heavily protected. As you can tell I’m the only one left.”

“Oh, well. That’s too bad. Of course you’re the only to survive. You have that blessing of your tough skin. You should consider yourself lucky.”

Zuri looked at him in a bit of disbelief. “Ha, I don’t know if this is a blessing or a curse.” Zuri thought to himself. He thought of the hefty price he pays for his “blessing”. “Well alright. So how are you guys fairing up here? Any news from the other bases?”

“Well we are holding up here pretty well. We have all we need here. But the main camp in Terror Mountain has sent a message of low food supply there. It seems that they are getting to many refugees there and their task force is running thin. They can’t afford to send any troops out to find food.”

“And let me guess. They’ve told you if you guys see me to go do it for them or something?” Zuri would figure that would be his luck. Like he said, blessing or curse. This “blessing” though kind of makes him cockier and not caring. Unless someone was to hit him with his weakness or magic he really wouldn’t be in all that much of danger.

“Well pretty much. You are the best guy for the job.”

“Ah yeah.” “That’s what they all say.” He thought to himself. “So am I just to bring a basket and see how much I can get?”

"If you wanna do it that way.” He said jokingly.

“Haha. I guess I’ll do it then.”

“Thanks Zuri, we owe you one.”

“Ah yeah. I'll add it to your tab.” Zuri then just walked to his room. It was down the hall fourth door on the left. He walked in and there was a closet and a bed. He walked over to the closet and opened it up. Inside was what you could call a ninja suit. He pulled it out and laid it on the bed. He then took off his sheath in which was his sword. He then took off his clothes, except his undies, and put on the suit. He then folded his clothes and opened up the secret compartment to his sheath and placed them in there. He now was in a small tight “ninja suit” which lucky for him kept him warm, nothing like custom designed stuff. He then went over and pulled out a few bags, like backpacks, one for each side of his waist and one for his back. He then put his sheath back on and then the packs. Each were empty, they are used to store the food and such in which he plans on grabbing. He is going to grab as much as he can. This probably isn’t much but is good enough for a few people if rationed correctly. He then walked back out the door into the hall and then left. He didn’t say hi or talk to anyone else on his way out. He then walked outside and then took off again, heading for Neopia Central.

[petdr89]

Strips didn't particularly care for Lue either, but then again, he didn't particularly care for a lot of people. He couldn't really remember, though, why he didn't like Lue, other than the fact it had something to do with Abby. He shrugged the thought away as he accepted the bundle from Shallo. "I'm sure they are too" though he mostly only said this to make himself feel better, since his family was missing as well. "And as long as everyone here remembers my name, I don't think there's any reason to go repeatin' it."

He returned his pistol back to its holster before crossing the cave and sitting down. He opened the bundle carefully, curious about what might be inside, and started drooling as soon as he found out. He then proceeded to eat like tomorrow would never happen.

[Jukebox]

Shallo sat watching Strips wolf down the food for a few moments, eating his more slowly. He turned his attention on Dre, noticing the various wounds she had managed to pick up, let alone those on the kougra. But her's looked bad. He stared at his staff for a few moments, trying to decide if he had the energy to heal them.

After contemplating it for a while he got up, walking over to where she sat and kneeling down next to her. He pulled another ring out of his pocket, the thin blue bands glinting in the light.
"Hold still," he ordered, putting on the ring and holding a hand over her shoulder, closing his eeys into the annoying stance neccesary for this magic. It took several minutes, but eventually he shook off the magic, her various wounds nothing but raw skin now. He moved back to his staff, sitting heavily, and breathing deeply in exhaustion.

[Kiweh]

Dre had started nibbling on the food but her stomach started to rumble further as it demanded more. She finished off the muffin, savoring every bite of it, as Shallo walked over to her. She gave him a weird look as he ordered her to not move and watch, heart pounding, as he took out another ring, "Wha..." She started but stopped as he placed a hand near her shoulder. The nabbing pain that itched her in various places subsided. She glanced down at one of the gashes on her arm. It slowly started to heal, leaving only a scar in it's place. Dre's eyes moved over at the jetsam as he backed off a confused expression on her face. "Thanks..." She said slowly, looking back down at the scar on her arm and tracing it with the tips of her fingers.

[Jukebox]

He shrugged, finishing off what was left of his food.
"I'm sure you've got a fair share of wounds as well, but I can't heal them now. You'll have to wait," he said to Strips with out looking up, "Besides, you seem like your used to this kind of activity." He walked over to the wall, grabbing up three of the blankets and tossing them closer before sitting down again, wrapping his own about his shoulders. Dre was unnerving him, more from his own regret than anyhting about her. He sighed staring into the flames deep in thought.

[petdr89]

"Soooo....." Strips started to ask Dre why she looked so different, but stopped when he noticed Shallo getting up. He watched intently as he healed Dre, a single eyebrow raised in confusion. "Uh, never mind" he said after Shallo had finished, shaking his head slightly. “Uh, yeah, s’okay man; I’m good” he replied to Shallo. He was used to this sort of thing, and he really wasn’t all that wounded; just hungry. Maybe a little bruised, but nothing serious. Besides, he wasn’t too crazy about having magic used on him; he never had been.

"So, uh, I hate askin' this, but you two seem ta know each other... Do ya?"

[zash]

After flying for awhile Zuri could see Neopia Central. He flew down low and landed in the trees. From there he decided to walk. So far he has made it with out any trouble. This is the way he wanted it. Of course flying wasn’t a much hidden way of getting around but it worked. He walked up to where the trees were fading and you could see the outskirts of town. He could see guards everywhere he looked. Luckily it was dark out by this point in time. This gave him an advantage. With his ability of night vision he had the upper hand against the Darigan guards. He was already dressed in dark clothing so this made him much harder to see. He then just walked up near the edge of town and then snuck in unnoticed. There were many fires and such going on so his advantage was now lessened. He ran in-between allies and watching for guards. He’d wait for some to pass by and find a good point to sneak across. He eventually found the bazaar and had to stay close to any shrubs or trees to sneak around. He ran into a store and grabbed some food and stuff it in his backpack. There wasn’t much but enough he could fill his pack. He then heard some guards and hid behind a shelf.

“Hold on a sec, I think I heard something.” One guard said.

“Yeah, I heard it to. I think it came from within there.”

“Gosh darnit. So much for being stealthy.” Zuri thought to himself. All he could do was wait and see if anything would happen and if he would have to kill the two. The guards then walked into the store and said,

“Is anyone in there?” They then continued to walk through the store in search of anything. Luckily for Zuri he was in a dark part of the store. Unless one of them walked by and tripped on him he would be alright. The guards then came behind him in the other isle.

“Well I don’t hear nothing nor see nothing. Do you?”

“Yeah, nor do I. It was probably just a petpet or something.”

“Yeah, probably.” They then just continued to walk around the store. They eventually decided to exit, but of course, through Zuri’s little isle.

“Ah crap.” He thought to himself. He slowly and as silently as he could moved himself so they wouldn’t trip on him. They continued to walk down the isle till they came next to Zuri. The only lucky part was they didn’t see him, but they guy in front stepped on him.

“What the…. Hey you!!!”

“Who are you?!”

To bad for Zuri. “So much for sneaking around.” And with that Zuri stood up, pushing the first guy back, and Zuri pulled out his sword and slashed through the second guy and then swung his sword around and tossed it like a dagger at the second guy. His sword went right through the second guy’s chest. The man tried to scream but couldn’t. Zuri then went over, pulled out his sword and then cut the guys head off. “Well that takes care of that. Hopefully I didn’t cause too much commotion around, or no one heard me.”

Lucky for Zuri no one had. He then continued with his mission. He ran around some more sneaking around as much as possible and managed to gather as much food as he could. His packs were stuffed full. He then snuck back out of Neopia Central. He managed to go unseen and was able to get to a safe distant outside of town. He sat down on a log and pulled out an apple in which he had shoved in his little compartment. He took off his mask that he had on and ate the apple. “No since in grabbing all this food without grabbin myself something.” He took a bite of the apple and enjoyed its juicy goodness. He continued to eat the apple till it was all gone and then threw the core on the ground. He then gave a sigh and stood up. “Its such a shame that so little food is left. Well I have what I came for. Better head for Terror Mountain.” He thought to himself. And with that Zuri leaped into the air and began flying for the mountains once again. He flew low against the trees to be able to at least hide a little. So from here Zuri is headed towards Terror Mountain to drop off the food and most likely sleep for the night.

[petdr89]

Meanwhile, Abby pulled her knees close to her chest, burying her face in them. She continued weeping as memories of the last time she had seen Zuri kept rushing through her mind with no end in sight.

Before this whole thing with the Dark Faerie and Darigans had started, she had made the decision that she and the child would live with Zuri in his home on Shenku. Strips accused her of abandoning her real family, but she didn’t care. She was happiest with Zuri and wanted to stay with them for as long as they both live, and raise their child together. Perhaps it was her feminine nature which led her to believe a faerie tail ending would actually come true, because what happened while they were together was far from perfect.

At first she thought it was; she didn’t notice the changes taking place in Zuri. At first, he simply seemed on edge, but never could figure out why. But, without her knowledge, her son was turning out to be quite the little hellion. Sometimes the child would simply stare at Zuri relentlessly until Zuri snapped. This was before the child was even a year old. Abby didn’t notice though; never realized how strangely they both acted when they were in the same room together.

Little did she know that those two were feeding off each other’s energy. A constant power struggle went on between them, and it was because they were both demons that this was happening. As time went on, she noticed Zuri becoming more and more irritated; he would loose his temper over the littlest things, and always seemed to be on edge.

One day he lost it completely. All three of them were in the same room and the small, seemingly innocent child was working on Zuri in full force. The room began shaking; books fell off shelves and pictures off walls, all while Zuri started changing into this large black beast. His eyes turned pure red and now glowed demonically, while other features on him changed as well. Abby was terrified and scooped the small child into her arms. Not knowing what to do, she tried to calm Zuri, but Zuri regarded her with a snarl; “Leave me!” Fear growing more inside Abby, she took the child and ran out the backdoor, looking back to see a bright white light surround Zuri and completely engulf him.

Whatever Zuri had just done had caused an echo to reverberate through the underworld, ‘causing the walls and hallows to shake there as well. This caused the Darkest Faerie to break free of her cell and make it to the surface of Neopia. Three days later, Abby and her child were taken by the Darkest Faerie and separated. She hadn’t seen her son since.

Abby had an obligation to the Darkest Faerie because she had agreed to work for the dark faerie that had brought her back to life; however, the child did not. So Abby really had no idea what had become of him.

She didn’t blame Zuri for what he had done at first, but as time went on and the Darkest Faerie’s influence on her grew stronger, she grew more hateful and more vengeful everyday, until eventually all she could think about was destroying all who opposed the Faerie’s rule, especially Zuri.

Like Abby, the more time a person spent around any dark faerie, the more they were compelled to serve the Darkest Faerie.

[Kiweh]

Dre watched as he left again to go get some blankets, "Yeah we... did business together..." She said, answering the kougra. She didn't wish to explain that the whole 'Rehak and world domination plan gone wrong' was their doing though. It seemed kind of weird that they tired to take over the world once but now that it was already taken over they were trying to fight back...
Dre watched Shallo come back with blankets and got up to get one. She was still getting used to feeling all these things and was more than thankful for Shallo to be understanding about it. She felt like she should thank him again but she didn't want to act like a broken record. She had already said that word to him two times now...
"So why is a hefty darigan kougra fighting against his people?" Dre asked Strips, wrapping the blanket over her shoulders and pulling it tight around her.

[petdr89]

Strips kind of half shrugged when Dre answered his question. It was fair enough; he probably shouldn't have asked anyway. It wasn't any of his business anyway, and if she didn't want to tell him he wasn't going to push the matter.

In regards to her question, however, he gave a crooked smile as his head turned to view the floor. He thought for a moment, before looking back at Dre, still holding a smile. "Who ever said I was against them?" He wasn't going to lie to her, and truthfully he wasn't really against them. He certainly wasn't fighting for the Darigans, but he wasn't against them either. Selfishly, he was merely fighting for himself.