Chapter Six: Torrent.

"even in our darkest moments, the times when the sealed-up, forgotten, or ignored places hidden deep inside ourselves that brim with untold evil leak out into this world to poison those around us, do not forget that without darkness, the can be no light... one cannot exist without the other, and know that where there is a light... there is life... there is protection, there is absolute truth to pull us out of the depths of our own darkness, and that can never be changed. it is the one shining truth that can never truly be forgotten...
Never."

-emperorwolf.

Benson laughed happily from beneath his umbrella as he began to recognise his dear friends around him.
"Kevin, Patrick," he looked through the golf's window "and Syrus! long time no see!"
syrus rolled down the window slightly "likewise, you old fox!"
"old?!" he laughed "please, i'm only thirty!"
kevin supressed a laugh of his own "yep, old!"
benson rolled his eyes as his sons joined the mocking.
"dad's a greying fox! dad's a greying fox!" they sung tauntingly.
"oh be quiet," he scratched at his chin "s' only grey 'cause of the rain"
syrus sighed "say, you guys walking?"
the three adult giants nodded.
"well, would you like a lift? i think there should be just enough room."
benson looked them all over, drenched.
"what about the interior?"
"a little water's not gonna do much that can't be fixed, c'mon, or do you prefer walking in this weather?"
submitting, they sighed.
"okay," patrick said finally "everyone in."

there was barely enough room, benson and Ciril sat in the furthest back, with virlan in his brother's paws, and felicia with malcom, that filled the back seat.
patrick, kevin, and bailerich sat in the middle row.
finally, Radin was seated in the passenger's spot, syrus up at his controls.
"everyone buckle up, and secure any 'little ones' safely please." syrus asked with a chuckle, then, after ensuring everyone was ready, he drove off.

"rain's comin' down hard..." patrick observed, a slight hint of anxiety in his voice.
"yes, it is. i'm lucky i don't live on a direct-surface home, i think most of them are underwater now..." syrus remarked, though the last part was distinctly more depressive.
radin fidgeted "hey, why didn't you tell me?"
"hm?" syrus asked "tell you what, exactly?"
"about them, about you and Mr Carl's interesting friends!"
"thank you." benson commented. "and on that, why didn't we know about this little snow leopard here?"
"well... uh... no-one asked?"

everyone laughed.

then, a horrible cracking sound rang out.
"oh no... no no no no no! please god, no!" syrus panicked.
"what?!" everyone asked "what was that?!"
"the... the..."
the answer came in a mile-high tidal wave surging toward them.
the dam had broken.
syrus swerved, trying to turn around and speed off, but it was too late.
the tide overtook them.
"SHIT!!" syrus screamed.
the windows cracked.
"QUICK, GRAB ON!" patrick demanded, and everyone grabbed each other as he jumped them out.
Whump
well, unfortunately... not everyone... as he discovered when they landed on the top of a skyscraper high above the tide.
"where's... shit, where's syrus?!" benson panicked
bailerich looked around, frantic "or Radin?!"

they looked on, horrified at the deadly wave below them, realising where they must be...

---

"Radin!" syrus panicked "can you swim?!"
"n-no..."
"Dammit! not like this! not like this!"
radin clenched his eyes shut tightly "dad... i'm scared..."
syrus abandoned the controls and leapt over to the snow leopard's chest, hearing his heart beating faster than he could possibly count the beats.
"i'm here, radin, i'm here... and i'm not leaving you..." syrus tried to assure him "and honestly... i'm scared, too..."
the metal of the car creaked ominously, ready to give way and drown them at any moment.
"i don't..." radin cried in terror "i don't want to die!"
"i know, i know, just..." syrus clutched tightly to his son "hold on to me, squeeze if you have to, just... don't let go of me... please..."
radin's white paws shot up to hold syrus against his chest "okay..." he sobbed in fear.
"undo the seatbelt, it'd only make things worse now..."
he did.
"i'm sorry to say this, but... at least you can be with them again... they were more deserving of you than we ever were..."
"no," radin sobbed "it's me who didn't deserve you... i'm the bigger one, and all i can do..." he wept "is wait for death..."
"don't be so hard on yourself... i-- wait, what's that smell?"

the smell of fire entered their notice, and in shock, they became aware of the chrome-coloured flames growing upon radin's body.
"what the...?!"
radin's memory briefly snapped back to the day he lost his birth-parents, these flames... they had appeared on that day as well!
"Dad, i've got a crazy idea..."
"what? well, anything's better than waiting to drown, i guess..."
he opened his mouth "geh ihh..."
syrus was surprised "wha- 'get in'? why?!"
"do iht!"
reluctantly, syrus hopped inside radin's mouth.
it started to close.
syrus whimpered "what're you...?"
before the mouth closed, he saw the flames blast outwards from radin, all across his body.
syrus then realised he wasn't in here for a mercy kill...
he'd been put here to keep him from burning.
"oh... i see..." the otter shifted uncomfortably "... thanks, radin..."

radin's whole body erupted with chrome-coloured fire, forcing back the tide, and destroying the crumbling car.
(this time,) radin thought (this time, i won't let myself be the only survivor!)
he began to rise, the orb of flame surrounding him carrying him up and out of the wave, and into the air, before settling atop a building high above.
the flames died down, and he spat out the little otter
"a-are you okay, dad?"
"i- i- i'm fine... but... what was...? why did...? what are...?"
"dad... i... it was... a cursed fire... it happens when my life is really threatened... and... i'm- i'm still normal... but... i guess i'm a monster..."
syrus shook his head vigourously and thumped himself on his own jaw.
"no... never say that. curse or no curse... you're still you."
radin slowly picked the otter up, and brought him to his chest
"is that squeeze still valid, dad?"
"yeah... and i think i might need one right now."
radin hugged him tightly, making syrus grunt as the pressure came crushing in around him.
"ugh! too tight! too tight!" he choked
the pressure eased up, but he was kept firmly to radin's chest.
"sorry... and, thanks, dad..."

suddenly, the rain stopped falling, the tide stopped surging, everything seemed to be frozen in time.
"this... this isn't you, is it?" syrus asked, but suspected he already knew the answer as he wrest himself from radin's grip.
"n-no! my curse can't do this!"
"thought not."
he couldn't place it, but something about this was familiar.
and the sight of a young back and white canine draped in gold light, striding across the paralysed wave below confirmed his suspicions.

---

Zenef knew not how he had arrived here, or why everything had stopped moving.
he only knew, somehow, that he could undo this disaster.
somewhere in his mind, he knew what to do.
in some surreal way, it was possible.
and dispite all the insanity that surrounded him, that which he'd never experienced before...
this felt familiar.
his light pulsed, and he raised his right arm...
and something not easily explained happend...

(Next Chapter: a flick of the wrist)