"Dog-face, watch what you call me! Oh, and you'll find out sooner or later..."

"Da, I'm sick of you!" the both of them said in unison. Then looked back at each other. They both fell over laughing at the temple gates. Shiro got back on his feet,.. er.. paws. "You comin' or what?" Illivatar stopped laughing. "Sorry, I got a little carried away," he grinned sheepishly. "Good. I thought that you went insane." "Thank you!" Illivatar sarcastically said. ".........."

What could that crazy mercenary be thinking? Shiro questioned himself. "Maybe he rammed his head against a tree...," he whispered to himself. Illivatar lobbed a stick at Shiro. "Hey! I did not! Am I a goat to you?" Shiro tried not to laugh out loud, whilst his face was turning red. "Animals..." muttered Illivatar.

Asuko landed in a VERY dusty room. "Wah...-" she looked around, "What a very ugly prayer room." "AND I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT!" bellowed a voice. The voice scared the daylights out of her. "Mmm?" she said thus turning around. "AHH!! YOU!!!! I'm gonna beat the hell outta you, you- @#%&%$!!" Asuko yelled but a poltergeist restrained her. "BUGGER!!" Fenris stood in the shadows, laughing. "'Tis amusing." "What's so amusing about watchin' mah sister struggle like that?!" Kemuiy shouted from her cell. "I'd like to see you trying to gasp for air in an air-tight sealed aquarium-" "SILENCE!" "#$*!!" she cursed. Asuko lit a small flame from her right and grabbed the poltergeist's face. It shrieked loudly and left the room wailing. "Hehehehe," she grinned a crazed grin. "Ready for some BURNIN' fur bag?!" Asuko lunged forward at Fenris.

Shiro ran faster. Fenris eh... I sense he's no ordinary beast. "Hmm." Illivatar chased after him like a hunter. "Can.. you.. slow.. down? I'm HUMAN y'know! These lungs aren't like yours!" he panted. They dodged trapdoors, spiked walls and a lot of other hazards. Shiro came to a halt. "Hey looky, a barrier." Illivatar tried to touch the barrier, but his left hand began to tremble. "Mmm, i'm starting to feel cold...- HARK?!" A gust of wind shot at him and hit his right arm. It left a deep cut, but there wasn't much blood. "Huh? How..." he held his arm. "It hurts as if a dagger was half-way through my flesh." Shiro peered at it carefully. "I think we should be more careful from now on. There should be other ways to get through-" he looked around, and paused at an altar with an arcane symbol in the center "-I think that we've found a way."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Blinding flashes of light and magic filled the room. "Erk!" the sisters shrieked in unison before falling unconscious. An electric blue Rune rolled out of Kemuiy's cape and stopped at Fenris' feet. He growled, thus the wing-shaped crest on his forehead began to glow. A faint, golden glow merged with a bluish-black dragon that emitted from the rune. Finally... If the merging goes all well, I might overpower the Golden Wolf... he thought. Shiaku was lifeless. Helplessly, it was merging with Fenris. Merging from head to tail, it was completing in seconds.

"HALLLTTTTT!!!"

"Who the?" he spat as a dash of red sped underneath him, snatching the Rune away. "Lookin' for this?" Illivatar sneered, then ran off to aid Asuko and Kemuiy. "Hold him off, now!" Shiro charged forward at Fenris, biting the large wolf's neck. The sudden flow of purple blood reminded him of a certain scene in his past.

{ "Mom, is everyone okay?" I asked. "I hope so, dear. I really hope so..." a soft voice replied."Shiro, you wait here. I'm going to check on the pack... Don't move anywhere." His mother whimpered, bearing the pain of the deep wound at her ribs before she went outside of the cave that they were hiding in. After awhile, he went to the entrance and peered outside. His parents and brother were badly injured. Towering above them, was a pitch-black wolf. It had a golden crest on its head with crimson red eyes. They weren't normal eyes of a beast, but a demon's. "What do you want from us?" his father demanded. "SHIAKU... GIVE IT, NOW..." it bellowed with a hoarse growl. "We don't know what you're talking about, nor the item you want. If it's something dealing with magic, go to Harmonia! Now, get lost!" his brother ordered the demon. It didn't budge. Instead, it knocked his brother against a tree with a swipe of its massive paw. "Pretty intelligent, for a fleabag." As if he isn't one! Shiro's rage began to boil. He charged out of the cave, pouncing at it. Biting its legs, the same colour of blood flowed. Enraged by Shiro, it knocked on the floor. The crest's shape formed on the hard ground, encircled in hell fire. The flames shot up and pulsed faster every second. A dark pillar surrounded the area, and sucked everything in a maelstrom of violent winds. The noise was deafening. Shiro, who was very weak at the moment, was hurled off to the mountains by the air currents. His vision was blurred, and he wasn't aware of himself. Suddenly, his head hit a hard object and everything went black. }

"It was you, wasn't it! The same beast who killed my clan!" he let his grasp go and somer-saulted backwards. Blood shot out of the place where Shiro bit deeply. It splattered on him, and on the others. "Yuck! What is this goo?" Kemuiy retorted, after being freed by Illivatar. "Sis... It's Fenris' blood," sweatdropped Asuko. "Plus, you're such a clean-freak!" she continued. "Ah!" Everyone turned to look at Shiro, who was the only one fueled with rage now.

WHAM!
Shiro winced as he was flung against the wall. "I will not heed the demands the weak!" Fenris growled in annoyance. Jet streams of water shot at Shiro, cutting his skin. His vision was blurred, but he could hear the sound of someone running. !! The sound of blades... Illivatar! He blinked his eyes, and tried to get a better vision. "Thunder sword! Electrocute my enemy and give its power back to the injured!" Fenris howled, as the sword hit his ribs. As the electrified blade sinked into his flesh, red energy drew his energy out thus firing energy balls at Shiro. As the beams revived Shiro, Fenris weakened. Illivatar pulled his sword out, breathing heavily. "It's been years since I done that..." he flashed a weak smile at Shiro.

After Kemuiy and Asuko cured Shiro and Illivatar of their fatigue and injuries, they hurried to the entrance. Suddenly, hot breath swept over them. Fenris had amazingly regained his strength, probably fueled by his desire for the Rune. "It ain't over yet! RUN!" Asuko yelled. Before they could do so, Fenris had generated a magic barrier around them. "Uh oh..." gasped Kemuiy. "Don't worry! We'll make it!" exclaimed Shiro. "I know we can!" His spirits were rising. Here goes nothing!

Fuchsia-coloured energy circled around Shiro, thus making him the same colour (only faded). "He's goin' critical!" shouted Illivatar, as a deafening whirlwind of leaves circled around the room. Above Shiro, appeared the Lunar Rune's sign. It shone brightly, its light so powerful that it could blind someone. "Take cover!" ordered Asuko. "There!" she said as she pointed to a statue of a rune master. Closing his eyes, Shiro thought to himself. Lunar Rune, halt our enemy and disable him until your power fades! The Rune generated many flaming blue arrows, darting off the walls and ceiling, trapping Fenris in a maze of lines. Fenris lunged forward, but as his body hit the barrier, it electrocuted him. The energy drained from Shiro quickly, and the light from the Rune faded. Reopening his eyes, Shiro darted towards the others. "C'mon, let's get outta here before the Rune's power fades!" The others nodded and said in unison, "Right!"

"You alright?"
Shiro opened his eyes slowly and stared at the figure looming above him. Suddenly, it slapped him. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" This time, Shiro bolted up. "DO I LOOK ALRIGHT?! ARE YOU BLIND?! It jumped back, a few feet away from him. "Whoa, cool down there. It's me!" Shiro recongised the voice. It was Illivatar. "You don't have to slap me, y'know. Em, where are we?" he spoke, while looking around. "We're in the inn of Forest Village," exclaimed another voice. Asuko sat on a stool next to a window, twirling a rubber band with her fingers. Looks like she isn't in the best of moods... Shiro thought.

"You fainted when we got out of that stinkin' place. I tell you, you're the heaviest thing I ever carried! Not to mention the fact that we were injured. As soon as we got here, the inn keeper was kind enough to shove us in a room and told us that we didn't need to pay!" Kemuiy said as she buried herself under the bed covers. "I'm going to sleep again, and g'night!" Shiro glanced up at the others. "So... where are you guys heading after this?" he asked.