Chapter Twenty Eight: the approaching storm

"watch out, danger looms!."

-unknown.

as benson lay comatose, his friends gathered around 999, as he produced an odd dodecahedral prisim.
"this will let me cause an echo of light, for a few minutes, this entire city will be filled with echoes."
kevin groaned, and covered his ears "that'll be annoying."
999 shook his head "no, no. wrong kind of echo. we'll see images of the old inhabitants, like... well, ghosts... but they're just images. non-malevonent imprints left behind by the old populace. like memories."
"so... a 'seeing' version of an echo... instead of a 'hearing' one?" carl guessed.
"precicely. ready?"
everyone nodded
"okay.... ahem ..."
everyone watched, practically trembling in anticipation.
"the past is a secret we'd like to uncover, show us the images of the time-lost other."
the prisim glowed, and the echoes appeared, spectral foxes sat in circles around them, discussing things.

everyone split up to explore.

-lily and johnny-

when everyone dispersed, lily decided to stay with benson, she sat next to his paw.
johnny landed on her shoulder "don't you want to look around?"
"not really... okay, yes, i do, but i'll stay with ben."
johnny seemed to sigh.
lily laughed "you're a funny bir-"
she stared as a young fox pup echo ran past, following a young raven, the raven seemed to be laughing, but the fox made no noise.
johnny trembled "f-follow them!"
she leapt up and followed the echos.

they seemed to be playing chase; every now and again, the pup would tag the bird, and run, and the bird would tag back, and speed off.
the bird flew in through a window, and the pup's echo pouted.
"" tough luck! bet y'll never get up 'ere!"" the bird's echo taunted.
the pup scratched his head, and signed.
lily read the signs aloud.
"i know another way up there, i'll catch you soon"
the pup smiled miscevously and ran off, he crawled through a small boulder.
lily ran over and pushed the stone aside, there was a hole, so she went down.

it was illuminated down in the hole, and they saw the pup running down the crudely dug passageway.
she followed.

the pup sneezed, then shivered.
he put his left footpaw out, and when it touched the ground, he sharply drew it back and trembled.
"this... once lead to the ice cavern." johnny told her. "it leads out into the room the other echo was in."
the pup shivered, and ran quickly.
lily followed.

they followed the shivering image into a large rectangular room.
everything seemed fine with the pup's echo, until it seemed to fall over.
it looked straight up, eyes wide.
it opened it's mouth to scream, but no sound came.
they saw echoes of ice stelagtites falling toward the pup.
then, at the last second,the ice stopped.
the echo of a cloaked human wearing a featureless black mask stood close by.
""are you okay, pup?"" it asked in a distorted voice.
the pup nodded fearfully.
""calm down, kid. i just saved you.""
the fox began signing, and lily translated them out loud
"who are you?"
""i am nobody. i can't tell you my name.""
"why?"
""because... i don't have a name yet.""
"why?"
""well... can you keep a secret, pup?""
the pup nodded.
""i... am... not... from... this... world...""
the fox pup tilted it's head to show confusion
""i... i came here from a different planet.""
the cloaked man broke the bottom half of his mask off, obscuring his eyes.
""call me 'E' ... and please, always take the left path, kid. the right path we're on is too dangerous.""
'E' vanished, and the bird's echo flew in
""oh man! are you okay?!""
the fox's echo nodded.
""i'm really sorry! ... brr, it's cold. let's get outta here!""
the fox nodded, and ran back the way he came.
lily followed him out, and saw a familiar pair of foxes' echos scolding the pup and the bird
""you two KNOW to stay out of the cavern!""
the fox looked apologetic.
the echoes dissappeared, and new ones formed, this time, 'E' stood in front of the female fox's echo, but something felt different this time...
""you know i need his power.""
""out of the question! leave here outsider!!"" she demanded.
'E' shook his head, and the fox became engulfed in flames, screaming
'E' walked away ""i'll take him as my weapon, someday.""
the echoes vanished.
lily stood, shocked.
"those were... from you and ben's pasts?"
johnny was equally shocked "yes... they were.
lily glared. "i know who this 'E' is."

-kevin and oriado-

as kevin and oriado left 'the centre' they saw the five riddlemasters, and many echoes trying the questions.
they moved on.
they walked through the densely packed streets of foxhaven, crowded with echoes.
kevin pointed out a street performer, and they watched.
""ladies and gentlefoxes! i'm Mesmo, and i'm going to put on a show for you!""
the echo crowd cheered
mesmo began juggling fire, forming it into dragons and feral foxes, having them soar over the heads of the crowd.
the crowd cheered again.
a few more of mesmo's echoes performed, but one minute in, kevin and oriado saw a much older version of the fox trying to do his magic, but he couldn't move fast enough, and burnt himself to death.
"that's terrible." the wolf commented.
"yeah, but look, they loved his act, right up to his end. they all look sad."
they noticed another echo nearby, doing a performance on the side of the road.
it was a giant fox, he was juggling three smaller foxes, who, in turn, were juggling apples.
everyone looked like they were having fun.
"ben's got a lot of cultural history, huh?" the wolf asked.
"heh, yeah."
then, all the echoes seemed to vanish, as a humongous fire engulfed their city
"WHAT?!"
at the center of the flames stood a man wearing a cloak and a black mask.
""GIVE ME MY WEAPON!""
kevin and oriado stared
""guardian palmer! relinquish the weapon!""
the echoes vanished.
"that... who was?" the german shepherd asked blankly
"no... idea..."

-collin, 999, Aeon, patrick, Amelia, carl, and syrus.-

they departed from the centre, and found what appeared to be a martial arts school.
inside, they saw monk foxes training.
one by one, they watched them.
"amazing. they're really flexible..." carl commented
"so, this is fox style?" collin mused
999 averted his eyes as the whole place lit on fire.
everyone else stood shocked as a masked, cloaked human decimated the place with fire.
""WHERE ARE YOU?! I'LL FIND YOU SOONER OR LATER!""
the echo vanished, and 999 stammered "we-we should hurry back!"

-back at the centre-
everyone sat around benson as he slept.
lily hissed "who the hell was that?"
carl growled "he seemed damn familiar..."
both Aeon and collin glared at the brown wolf.
999 put his head in his paws. "okay... FINE, it was me!"
everyone glared at the wolf.
"but... those were from a long time ago! back then, i was under someone's influence! i needed the power of a glilou to hold it off!"
lily walked up and punched him in the face "don't bullshit us! you said 'weapon' and you meant ben, didn't you?!"
he sighed "yes... and no..."
kevin snarled "you... son of a--"
"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" 999 screamed "IT WASN'T.... wasn't really me... back then."
patrick was in giant-canine form, and he grabbed 999 and squeezed "DON'T LIE!"
999 choked, and glared back at him, and his eyes turned red "shut.... up.... and listen!"
everyone watched, and waited for him to continue.
"back then, i had been posessed. posessed by a demon called the harbinger. all he wants is to destroy everything. i had lost 99.99% control of my body, but, in my 0.01% control, i was able to get him to obtain a glilou, which purged him from my body. i made Mr. palmer forget that he saw me... to try and save him."
"oh yeah? how?!" amelia yelled.
"i gave him amnesia of me, because if he knew about me, the harbinger would target him."

"is that right?"

everyone turned to see benson sitting up, looking annoyed.
999 freed himself from patrick's grip, and floated over to the fox.
"go ahead... kill me."
"i won't."
"why?"
"one: because that's just freaky, two: because while you all saw the foxes' history, i saw your history, 'emperor' ... alias 'nine ninety nine'."
999's eyes widened.
"and i forgive you. you came to our world to gain power, so you could bring peace to your own"
999 bowed in midair... then tensed
"something's coming!"
collin used his visor "they've got mass amounts of energy!"
benson cleared hs throat
"our home invaded by forces unknown, out we run, leave the throne.
seal yourself once again, and purge all those who entered in!"
white light flashed, and they found themselves back in the grey room.
their winter clothing had come with them.
999 ran off.
his voice carried itself to them
"you can leave through the doorway."

they left, travelling back through the psychodelic pathway.
lily floated up beside benson "do you really forgive him?"
"i do. his life was horrible, lil... and he really was possessed."
kevin and oriado floated up "do you think we should forgive him as well?"
"yes."

---

back in the grey room, 999 stood across from a pair of fox-cats, and a winged cat.
"you're the ones?"
they nodded.
"there's nothing you can do, try five years from now."
they vanished.
he sighed.
"i'm an idiot"

---

-kevin's house, a month later.-

benson finished packing away the last of his belongings.
kevin sat at the table, sad.
"d'ya really have to, ben?"
"hey." he flashed a reassuring smile "i need to move in with lily. now that you two'll be alone together, i bet ori'll try to pop the question, kevin!"
"think so?"
"i bet, didn't i?"
"yeah... by the way, how's her little invention coming along?"
lily popped out of benson's breast pocket "nearly done! Resilix Beta is working, so Resilix omega should be here soon!"
benson closed the box, and oriado walked in. "hey ben."
benson stood upright and whispered into the wolf's ear
"you gonna ask?"
oriado smiled nervously.
"uh... k-kevin..."
"yeah?"
"would you... um... what i mean is..."
kevin blushed "a-are you asking what i think you're asking?"
"well... since it's legal now... and we're really close..."
"are you asking me to...?"
"will you m...m.... muh... marr..."
benson interjected "marry?"
the wolf and german shepherd blushed and fidgeted.
"u... uh-huh..." oriado stammered "i.... am...."
kevin's face was flushed. "i'd.... love to..."
he smiled sheepishly.
oriado lunged forward and hugged kevin.
he returned the embrace.
they looked into each other's eyes...
and then, nervously...
they kissed.

benson smiled.
lily said nothing.

the two shared their kiss for a full half-minute.
they stepped back, faces flushed red beneath their fur.
"you two okay?" benson asked.
they didn't answer, they simply looked into each other's eyes yet again.
"k-kevin?"
"y-yes?"
oriado straightened up "there's... something you should know..."
kevin became nervous "y-yeah?"
oriado took a deep breath...
"i... wasn't born naturally..."
"cezarian?" lily asked, curious.
he shook his head, and stepped back "i'm what you'd call... a test-tube child..."
kevin fought back his shock "y-you're a... what?"
"i don't... have parents... or a real family... i was created... from a DNA sample and... a collection of atoms..." the wolf admitted nervously.
"wait..." lily cut in "...isn't bio-building... illegal?"
oriado nodded. "I'M illegal. my very existance... is against the law..."
kevin put his paws over his muzzle "but... i told my dad about you..." kevin wrenched his eyes shut "oh no! he'll cross reference and double check anything he can get his paws on to find out about you!"
oriado figeted "n-no... it's not your fault... it's mine... i shoulda told you sooner..."
benson put his paws on their shoulders "stop, both of you. kevin, you had no way of knowing, it isn't your fault." he turned to the wolf "oriado, you aren't at fault either, information like that... you had to be 300% sure you could trust us, it's not easy to say something like 'hey guys, did i ever tell you i'm not allowed to exist?' really, ori, nobody blames you." he smiled reassuringly "you're brave to have even told us at all!"
the wolf sat down, so did kevin.
"and besides, kevin's dad's chief of police, and if he really cares about his son's happiness, he'll overlook this for him."

"it's a difficult choice."

everyone spun around to see Ronaldo standing at the top of the stairs.
oriado cowered.
"bio-construct #15 Delta: Oriadolovick remiriianti, illegal biological creation- orders upon encounter: destroy." ronaldo informed them.
kevin stood and jumped in front of the wolf "father, no! please no!"
ronaldo took out his gun. "step aside, son."
"I WON'T!"
ronaldo aimed the weapon at his head "now, kevin."
"if you're going to shoot him... you'll have to shoot me first, dad!"
ronaldo growled "kevin, don't be unreasonable, he's, by definition; a monster."
kevin began to cry "but..."
"but WHAT, kevin?"
kevin growled...
"I LOVE HIM!" he barked.
ronaldo stared "wh-what?!" he closed his eyes briefly, and opened them again "i already know you're gay, son... and i'm okay with that... but... you can't love him, as far as anyone else is concerned; he. is. not. real."
"he's REAL to ME!"
oriado whimpered "k-kevin... stop..."
"no! i'm not letting him kill you!"
"kev, i'm pretty much a... machine made of meat.... that's how everyone else sees my kind..."
"NO. YOU'RE JUST AS REAL AS I AM!" kevin bellowed.
ronaldo cocked his gun. "kevin please, don't do this."
"choose then! kill both of us, or let him go!"
"i choose: kill him and not my own son."
"NOT. AN. OPTION."
ronaldo growled "KEVIN, DO NOT DISOBEY YOUR FATHER! GET OUT OF THE WAY RIGHT NOW!!"
kevin's eyes were full of tears "correct me if i'm wrong, but technomages are supposed to be arrested on sight, but you let ben go free!" kevin barked angrily "how is this any different?!"
"VASTLY. your friend only used it when he absolutely had to, and i owed him because he saved both our lives!"
lily hid away in benson's pocket.
benson snarled, his eyes turned to the gold iris and red pupil colour denoting his new powers were active.
"ENOUGH!" he demanded, and a small, short explosion erupted in between kevin and his father.
they stared at him.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YOUR SON IS HAPPY WHEN HE'S WITH ORIADO, THEY LOVE EACH OTHER!" benson snapped "YOU'D REALLY THROW THAT ALL AWAY BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID LAW?! HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF HIS FATHER?!"
ronaldo was dumbstruck. he simply stared at the fox with wide eyes.
oriado still cowered behind kevin, who was just as dumbstruck as his father.
"every life is worth something, take it away, and you're robbing from the world. NO life is worth ending."
they couldn't respond. they just stared at the enraged fox.

"if you kill oriado, then you're signing your own death warrant."
ronaldo snarled "you're threatening ME?"
"you misunderstand. your son is everything to you, isn't he?"
"yes, but-"
"do you think he'll want anything to do with you if you kill his boyfriend? well, do you sir?"
ronaldo closed his eyes "it's my duty... both as his father and as an officer of the law... to kill monsters like this whenever i find them."
"pff. stop lying to yourself."
ronaldo glared at oriado's cowering form "the tests determined... that when they become infatuated, the subjects eventually succumb to ... devouring... those they hold dearest."
benson gasped and stepped back "o-ori? is that...?"
the wolf whimpered "it's... true... one day... i'd just be overcome with the desire to... to eat kevin..."
"see son?! i'm trying to protect you! now move!"
kevin didn't budge.
benson was unable to move, petrified with fear "kevin...?"
the younger german shepherd stared his father down "I. DO. NOT. GIVE. A. DAMN."
ronaldo gasped
"dad, i'm serious. i honestly don't care that one day, he'll want to do that. because of one reason."
"what is that reason?" ronaldo asked in disbelief
"because here and now, i love him. and NOTHING will change that. not ever."
ronaldo dropped his gun and fell to his knees.
"i... i don't understand..."
kevin picked up the gun, and turned to oriado, and hugged him.
"k-kev-!"
"i meant every word. you're the most valuable thing in the world to me."
"but... i am just that... a 'thing' ... i'm not real..."
"shut up, as far as i'm concerned, if you can touch it, if you can feel it's presence, if you can see it and hear it and smell it and taste it, it's real."
"taste?"
kevin kissed him again as an answer.

"oh... i see..." oriado said nervously
kevin looked lovingly into the wolf's eyes "you assail all of my senses, you CAN'T convince me you aren't real. it's damn impossible for me to accept that you're not a 'real' living creature."
benson's legs nearly gave out "kevin... that's beautiful"
"but... kev... i'll want to eat you one day..."
"but, will you still love me, even when it comes to that?"
oriado began to cry "i will. that's why it's a danger."
"what fun's left in life without a little danger, eh?"
oriado buried his head into kevin's chest "thank you, Kevin Ghast, thank you!"
kevin hugged him closer "it's my pleasure."
ronaldo bowed his head "this goes against everything i stand for..."
benson smiled weakly "then... sit for it?" he joked
ronaldo looked up at the fox "if i don't take him down... somebody else will... the name Oriadolovick Remiriianti is well known on the force."
"well..." kevin smirked "he might not be 'remirii' much longer..."
"huh?"
"he asked me to marry him. and i said..."
he rested his head on oriado's "...yes."
benson looked at the officer "can he change his name from oriadolovick to just oriado? would that work?"
"no, that name connects to the other."
"why not... just 'Ori' then?"
"or, Oriado Ghast?" kevin suggested.
oriado opened his crying eyes "Oriado... Ghast? ... that sounds nice... i'd like that..." he said quietly "...a lot..."

"so... when'll you be saying...'i do' ?" benson asked them
oriado hugged kevin tighter "i don't know..."
kevin rubbed the wolf's head "ASAP. that's when"

oriado looked nervous again "theeeeeeeeeres something else..."
"yes?"
"i'm.... also.... a hermaphrodite."
benson raised an eyebrow "then... shouldn't you have... breasts?"
"i'm flatchested. i'm also unable to properly bare children."
"?"
"i have ovaries, and a ... mm-hm-hm, but i don't have a womb... i've got all the 'guy' parts, though."
"hmm, so, if we were going to, ... it'd have to be artificial insemination?"
lily popped up "how can you have a ... you know, and ovaries, but no womb or breasts?"
"the collection of atoms i mentioned earlier were designed to give me specific traits."
"that's wierd... no offense"
"none taken, i assure you... and i agree, it is very wierd."
he looked back at kevin "so... do you still-?"
kevin put his paw over the wolf's mouth, silencing him.

"shut up. i already said 'yes' and, i love you for WHO you are, not WHAT you are. double-gender, unusual method of birth, illegality, these things mean nothing to me."
kevin looked at benson "ben, would you be my best man?"
the fox bowed "it'd be my honour."

oriado and kevin stood
"kev?"
"yes, ori?"
"just so you know, i'd start hungering less after i reproduce at least once. not many people know that fact."
"who knows, we might someday. i certainly love you more than enough!"

999 sat on top of the fridge, hiding, having observed the whole thing secretly, he had a thought.
since dangerous matters are out of the way for now, where will this lead?
the harbinger, Densro, and Zedin are still out there, and a certain trio has arrived in the timeline, but for now, these things can wait.

i wonder if they'll let me attend the ceremony?