Flames: Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Auria Arena – Sector D
Day 2

   Saph felt a prickle on his temple as something was removed, then very slowly, he regained conciousness. Though he was still laying down on the uncomfortable bed, he looked around the room, to find no one but the wolf furre he had met earlier. Saph blinked in suprize and sat up in his bed.
   “You up, kid?” the furre said. Saph blinked and looked at him through his left eye, his right eye was too sore to open. Suddenly the visions in his dream came pounding into his memory, the horror, all the slaves… the torture. Saph found himself gripping the bed, his claws slightly ripping the sheets as he breathed heavily, his eyes filled with rage.
   “Hey. Don’t dwell on it do much, kid. The dream meant nothing. Nothing… just a combination of random thoughts and memories, nothing more. You ok?”
   Though he knew the wolf was right, he couldn’t help but to dwell on it… Saph sighed and wondered about the past of furries… suddenly he looked over the wolf furre.
   “Were furres… really enslaved?” he asked him, finally calm, he layed down and looked at the furre.
   “Sadly, yeah… Furres were kept as labor slaves, to work and not to do anything else…” Even the magestic looking wolf furre, looking strong and brave in nature, looked at the ground in shame at their past.
   Saph layed there for a long time, before sitting up and looking over to the wolf. He twitched his big tail and flicked his ear, his right eye still too sore to open.
   “I want to learn more about our past.” Saph said.
   “Eh? What ‘ya say, kid?” The canine asked.
   “I want to learn about our past” Saph repeated. The wolf chuckled a bit and stood up.
   “Too bad kid… most of the information was banned from places. The only place that’s left that still has information is the UIB building on planet Prinit.” The wolf said in a disappointed tone. “The place is heavily guarded, and only government creatures and creatures givin special permission are allowed in.”
   Saph sighed and looked down, but he was convinced. He just –had- to get into that building somehow… Saph sat there for a while, just thinking, until the wolf interupted.
   “I know what your thinkin kid, and theres no way we can bust into the place. The place is loaded with guards and trip wires and all kinds of traps… its certain death for sure. Look, I know you hate the humans for there enslavement of the furre race, but its over now. We’re led by great creatures. Theres no point of getting yourself killed doing something that pointless.” The wolf said.
   Saph was up at his footpaws in less then a second.
   “This isn’t pointless! Look, I don’t see how you furres haven’t noticed, but don’t you think its odd that a group of highly entelligent alliens are keeping out own past from us?!” Saph screamed. His right eye was burning up, but he didn’t care.
   This fact made the wolf pause. For a moment he sat at the chair, motionless, then he looked to the side and Saph heard the clang of his claymore tapping the ground behind the wolf.
   “They claim that is furre’s knew the truth, they would overeact and start another war.” He said, calmly
   “Claim?! What if there lieing? Claiming doesn’t seem like a very intelligent thing to me!” Saph roared.
   “The Lokea don’t lie, they are sworn never to tell a lie.” The wolf replied
   Saph stamped his paw and boomed again. “Swearing on anything can’t keep them from lieing!”
   The wolf got to his paws and looked down at the skunk furre. His eyes blaring.
   “Look! I’m not here to argue, alright?!” He growled and sat back down, slowly getting back to normal. When Saph new it was safe to talk again, he flicked his tail and looked to the ground.
   “Then why did you come here?” Saph asked him.
   “Kid, I came here to warn you. It seems Shade was enraged by your win, as you know now… after he recovered, he started a rampage in the cafeteria level of the building… the guards have seeled off the area, but no one can stop him… its been over a day now and no one can stop him… he’s seeled off all the exits except one, which he guards…” he answered. “You think you can do it?”
   Saph grinned and nodded, standing up as he did. Looking around, he saw his trenchcoat and knives on the counter. He looked nervously at the wolf and he laughed.
   “There when I came in, kid.” He said, sensing the worry in Saph. Saph nodded and went to the door, only to stop for a second.
   “Your name…?” Saph said, grinning at the wolf. The furre seemed to stop to try and recall what he said, then sighed and nodded.
   “Oh well… the name’s Glint. Glint Bloodbane. I’m rank D,Beginner in the Lethal League. Just started a couple days ago.”
   Saph walked over to the counter and picked up his trenchcoat and knives. He put his coat on and washed his muzzle off, wetting down his shadow grey hair, he let it hang down, two long batches of hair hanging down to his shoulders, falling across his blue eyes (though they have a green glow-in-the-dark tint to them.).
   “I’m stopping at my dorm first.” Saph said, running out of the room with Glint following behind, taking his time as Saph padded off to the dorms.
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Shade was breathing heavy. He held the whip at ease, waiting next to the door for anyone to come in. Snarling under his hood he reach to the side of his cloak and grabbed a small desvise, he held it up to his mouth and began talking.
   “Natalia! Get up here, quick!” Shade roared, knowing he wouldn’t last much longer. He then held it up to his ear to hear Natalia, his partner confirming that she was coming to his aid. Shade nodded and broke in a run, heading toward the large windows that were the back wall of the cafeteria. Just as he started running, He heard a loud noise of padded feet landing behind him. Shade spun around to be supprized at who he found.
   Shade’s new opponant grinned, her teeth sparkling in the sunlight. Her brown fur waving in the wind. She raised two cartridges that resembled magazine clips, fliped up a panal, and pushed a button on the side. Metal folded out, forming a protective barrier around her hands, but also, two high powered rifles. The Otter Grinned again, the red scouter/nightvision/heat sensing, glass object flipped over her eye with a slight buzz from the gold tiara on her forehead. From her view a crosshair moved to her target, a “target locked” warning appeared in the upper right corner. Raising the rifles to waist level, she shifted her footpaws as a brace.
   Shade growed at the furre and backed up slightly, readying his whip.
   “What is your name?!” Shade demanded. Again the otter furre grinned, pointing one of the rifles directly at his forehead, or where it would be, under the cloak.
   “The name’s Ria. Move back again and I’ll clear your head off your body.”
   Shade growled as another pair of paws landed to his left side.
   “You must be joking, trying to get out of here alive. Never piss off a place of warriors.” The newcommer said, taunting Shade.
   Fritz stood with his arms crossed, ready to block the warrior if he desided to run that way.
   “What the… who the hell are you, fool? What makes you think you two can stand in my way.” Shade roared.
   Fritz shook his head and tsked
   “Because theres a gun aimed directly at your head you moron.” Fritz said with a grin and foolish ease.
   Shade broke for it. He was just inches from the window, and he sensed it was about time. Ria roared angrily at the creature’s mad dash, her rifle losing her target, but quickly regaining it. She shot three shots, but there was no sign of any hits, or where they landed, because the sound of a helicopter drowned out the sounds of the bullets. Fritz could do nothing to stop him, since Shade came nowhere close to where he was blocking.
   Shade cracked his whip and a square of the giant glass window shattered, just as the helicopter came to their level. Fritz swore under his breath and Ria growled loudly, knowing that two others had landed beside them, but only paying attention to the issues at hand.
   Saph quickly dropped his staff that he retreived and reached into his pocket and pulled out one of Mel’s darts, and with a quick aim, he threw it hard and grinned as the blade hit Shade’s cloak, setting it on fire.
   Shade didn’t move, nor did he panic. For a couple minutes he just stood there, until the cloak turned to ashes, and Shades form was reveiled.
   Glint was amazed, he had only heard myths about the few demons that supposedly still existed in the universe. He knew everyone else knew, and they were also amazed….
   Shade’s true form look like a figure strait out of hell, his claws looked sharp enough to cut diamond, and his sheer demonic looks enough to frighten the greatest warriors. In Shades hand was a yellow gem in a diamond shape. He grinned and threw it into the building and roars his parting words. No one did anything to stop him. No one could seem to move.
   “The Devil’s Merchant has risen. Come to learn the truth you desire so deeply, Saphire Starfire.”
   Auria Arena - Rooftop

Everyone had gathered on the roof that night. Glint explained to Saph, Fritz, and Mel that Ria was a member of his ship’s crew. None of them had really talked much since the incident in the cafeteria (esspecually Saph.), nor did they tell anyone what happened, since no one would believe them in the first place. The staff and other members thought he had comitted suicide and jumped out of the window… They gathered under the starlit sky at the dead of night, in a corner no one was at. Fritz, Saph, and Mel were sitting in chairs and Glint and Ria on a couch around a table with a vase with exotic flowers from some planet on it.
   It was quiet for a while after everyone gathered. Saph looked around at the various furres out on the star-filled night. One that stood out to him was a brilliantly colored female phoenix with gold and red feathers. Ria, who seemed to be the least effected by the encounter with a demon, spoke first. Unfortunatly it was very rude thing to say.
   “Saphire, do you know him?” Glint and Fritz glared at her, Glint because he was supprized she would say so, and Fritz to protect his friend.
   “It’s fine…” Saph said. “I don’t know him… at least… I don’t think so… I mean… I don’t really know…” Ria looked confused, though everyone else knew what he was saying.
   “Saph… Can’t remember anything from his past… the only thing from it he has is his staff…” Glint told her. Saph nodded and continued on the thought.
   “I don’t mind it though… I have my friends… I really don’t need a past… I’m just curious, you know?” he asked Ria, who nodded. There was a moment of silence as a group of humans past by, giving threatening glances and stares, though they all just ignored their natural enemies.
   “So what do we do now? We have to stop that demon…” Fritz said, in deep thought, for once. Saph thought for a moment and then looked at Fritz.
   “We have to get to the UIB building.” The skunk said. Fritz looked suprized at this and looked back at Saph.
   “How do you know that?” Fritz asked him. Saph thought for a second and nodded to approve of himself.
   “He went there, I know he did.” Saph assured him. Fritz stopped to think, but Glint stood up and glared at Saph
   “Now how do we know he went there, kid? Stop playing the know-it-all hero, because its gonna get you three killed someday.” Having said enough, he sat back down, leaning his right arm on the couch. Saph said nothing, but Ria turned to glint
   “We have no other leads, Glint. We mine as well-“ She said, but was interupted by the now fuming Glint.
   “We, Ria?! We? Did I say we’d help them Ria? Did I?!” Ria blinked a bit then retreated, looking quite agitated herself. There was a long moment of silence, and saph looked up toward the night sky, spotting five meteors in the sky, burning and sheering across the black night. He looked back down to break the silence to find that Glint and Ria had already walked off to the elevator, and got in. as the door closed, Fritz sighed.
   “What are we gonna do, Saph… Mel…? Any ideas?”
   Saph and Mel shook their head in unison, and Saph found himself looking up to the meteors again, which seemed much bigger, and seemed to be gaining in size. Squinting, he realized that they weren’t meteors at all, rather, it was a ship of some kind. Finding himself on his footpaws, Saph signalled to Fritz, who had already noticed and unsheathed his sword, Mel found herself hiding behind the couch.
   The huge ship flew fast across the city, (which was an incredibly sight from the rooftop, which was the third highest in the city, multiple highways lit up with cars, Buidings lit through millions of windows, the sight of the two, large moons of Auria gleaming in the horizen, the dark red sky [which was normally a lighter red in day] and a fasinating aurora in the sky.) releasing four pods that slamed into the top of a building clear across the city. From there on Saph could see much from the smoke and the distance, but soon, four creatures were leaping incredibly from building to building, running across the walls and windows with ease. Closer and closer they approached, and Saph found himself reaching in his trenchcoat and readying knives. One by one they lept onto their building, charging toward them, Saph managed to nail one of the creatures in the throught and another in the arm. The one he hit in the throught fell to the ground, his bodysuit desolving away. Saph choked at the site.
   The creature was a mixmatch combonation of random furre species, with patches of fur rangled, bloodied, or missing, skin melted and torn. A literal furre version of a zombie. And the smell was disgusting. Saph curled his skunk-nose in disgust, spatting at the creature.
   “ugg, I’ve smelled better thing from my-“ Saph was cut off by the sound of metal agaist metal, Fritz’s katana was against one of the creatures, he quickly darted to and fro, faking the wrangled creature out many times, making deep slashmarks that healed rapidly. Saph saw this and growled, only working defensively against the two creatures he fought (one of which was the one he damaged earlier). The creatured had longswords, but with Saph’s skills with his combat knives, he could block both swings simaltaniously, and the only reason Fritz wassn’t overwhelmed, was his massive agility and his offense, which caused them to slow down a bit.
   “Saph!” Fritz said, blocking a shot that would have nailed him in the muzzle. Saph didn’t have to ask, and Mel was already sprinting toward the stairs. Saph nodded and Fritz made a hastey retreat, jumping over a low sweep that came from behind him, and fully flipping over the creature he blocked the attack against. Landing his paws on the horror’s back,he launched of it, landing on the tiles with a small padded thud. The creature fell clear into the one in from of him, and fell to the ground.
   “Shit.” Saph muddered, now facing four of the creatures. Saph noticed that almost everyone had evacuated off the building’s top floor. He looked again to see the phoenix he saw before stand up from her chair, the only one left on the roof. She walked over to the creatures and looked at Saph, strait into his eyes, and nodded, her gold eyes penetrating into him.
   The phoenix raised her hands put them out in front of her. The creatures were still too busy taunting Saph to notice. She closed her eyes and began chanting, this however, getting the furre zombies’ attention.
   A bright, firey glow suddenly illuminated the night around the 6 creatures, when it finally died down, Saph found himself bend over, blinded by the light. The only thing he heard was the the last words of the phoenix’s chant.
   “Burn.” She said. And suddenly the four burst into flames. Saph wasted no time as he bolted to the stairs, mainly because of the horrid stench the burning zombies gave out.
    Saph reached the floor of his dorms and collapsed against the wall, breathing heavy, the lights above him flicked on and of rapidly. Still breathing heavy he closed his eyes and stomped his footpaws against the concrete.
   “Damnit!” he said, realizing the arena he called home was now being overun by the freak zombies. He swore again and found broken pipe on the ground, muttering to himself, he shook his head and retreived it, swinging the door open and running in like a madfurre