Past Reflections: Part Four

"Dudette, we're not getting anywhere."

      Yubioke ignored the remark for the hundredth time, biting her lip in fury. If that idiotic Acara asked that question one more time... she would deck him. Mesbeto opened his mouth again, and, hearing him inhale and prepare to talk, Yubioke clenched her fists.

      He spoke.

      She decked him.

      Mesbeto whined endlessly after that, touching his sore head and whimpering. Yubioke snickered at him. "Mesbeto, by now you should know how to keep your mouth shut."

      The Aisha was stopped short as she ran face-first into a Bruce. Grumbling angrily, she made an attempt to shove past him, but he held out a fin that blocked her way. Glaring angrily at him, she demanded, "Walk much? Isn't there enough sidewalk for you to use? You may be large, but I'm sure Meridell's big enough for you to stay outta my way."

      Her smart remark was rewarded with a fin colliding with her face, sending her to the ground. Mesbeto gasped, running to his sister, all the while keeping a wary eye on the Bruce. "Dude, that was..."

      Before he could think of more words to utter, he was grounded along with his sister. Yubioke snarled, sitting up, and threw herself at the enemy's foot. She sunk her catlike teeth into the webbed fin, and the Bruce sneered in reply. He shook his foot hard, waving her roughly off. The Aisha landed roughly on the ground, moaning slightly and clutching the grass to ebb her pain. Mesbeto ran to her side, his cheek seemingly aflare with pain, and he swung her arm around his shoulder. "This is totally insane," he mumbled, turning and making an attempt to run. The Bruce was suddenly hot on their heels, despite his massive girth.

      Mesbeto turned a corner, his heels flying across the ground as if they were on fire. Yubioke, having a slender frame, seemed hardly heavy to him. And... Mesbeto blinked in slight confusion... something was speeding him up. He felt strange power flooding through his limbs, encouraging him to use it in other ways.

      It was encouraging him to attack. Pressing the power back and questioning himself repeatedly, Mesbeto tried to adjust his mind to finding a place to hide. Yubioke moaned slightly on his shoulder, showing signs of growing consciousness. Mutely sighing, Mesbeto hurried through the streets. Where to hide...?

      Finding an ideal hiding spot (while hearing the straining breaths of the Bruce behind them), Mesbeto dashed under the meat stall that was owned by Mr. Wade. The Acara held his breath as the Bruce thumped past, then sighed in relief. Yubioke groaned again, this time waking completely, and looked around. "Where are we...?"

      "Shut up, dudette," Mesbeto snapped, and Yubioke was about to reply when Mesbeto shushed her again. "That guy's insane... but then again..." he glanced over to his groggy sister and felt a sigh escape his lips. "...our family is kind of used to maniacs, aren't we..."

      "What are you muttering about?" Yubioke half-snapped.

      Mesbeto shook his head. "...nothing."

      A loud shattering sound snapped the two pets from the quiet safety of their hiding place - the Bruce looked at them with a lifted eyebrow and sneered. "Betcha you thought you could hide from me, eh...?"

      At first, Mesbeto reacted on fear and blind natural reactions, but he was quickly stopped. In a pathetic attempt to smack the enemy's flipper away, a torrent of water was released from his paw... upon this happening, he gazed at his limb in bewilderment. The Bruce lay on the ground, having been blasted thoroughly, and blinked in amazement. "You?" With an abrupt lunge he came forward, this time fully intent on Mesbeto. "You little--!"

      "Ah!" Mesbeto cried as he was shoved back, and Yubioke let out an unusual whimper when her brother was seized around the throat.

      The Bruce looked evenly pleased with himself, and he hissed into Mesbeto's ear, "Heh heh, my boss is going to be happy with you."

      Mesbeto was about to reply, but the grip on his throat tightened and he choked in agony. Yubioke cried out in rage, finding the nearest weapon - a broom - and smacking the Bruce fiercely with it. "You jerk, let my little brother..."

      The fin descended to smack Yubioke again; this time she was ready, and she ducked, smacking him all the more with her broom. "If I had my weapons, I'd slice you up!" she cried pathetically. Onlookers were scarce; they all seemed intent to pretend the argument wasn't even going on. Yubioke looked around fearfully as Mesbeto made choking noises, his eyes were slowly beginning to dim over...

      "LET HIM GO, I SAID!!"

      Something seemed to rush quickly through her, inhabiting her veins and overflowing her mind. Yubioke half-shuddered, for it stopped due to the warmth spreading throughout her body. Her arms raised without her command - a scream that had not been hers had previously torn from her mouth. Power flooded through her body and channeled into her paws, then burst forth, taking the form of darkness. Yubioke could only watch in amazement as the Bruce was knocked over a second time by the power, but did not rise up. The crowd, now having forced themselves to become involved, stared. Many pets gasped in amazement, a particularly brave Wocky ran forward. He felt the Bruce's chest, then felt his throat and wrist. "He's not dead," he said with a sigh, and the crowd seemed to deflate slightly.

      "But she nearly killed him!" a woman screamed, pointing a finger at the stunned Yubioke. "I-I saw it!"

      Yubioke backed up, waving her paws frantically. "N-no! It's not what it looks like... he was chasing us! We don't even know why...!"

      Mesbeto grabbed her paw and pulled her through the crowd. "Back off! World's biggest freak coming through!"

      Yubioke smacked him roughly. "You're the last one to talk! What was all that with the water coming from your paw?!"

      Mesbeto shrugged. "I dunno... but hey, let's make tracks before that guy wakes up, hmm?" Yubioke, despite the fact that she usually didn't agree with Mesbeto, couldn't think of anything better to do. She took a sad look back at the crowd - all of which were regarding her like a horridly deformed monster - and ran on with Mesbeto.

      "Mesbeto," she said quietly, taking advantage of the situation. "I'm bound to be branded as a freak, right...?"

      "Yeah, what about it?"

      "I think I should change my look a little, y'know, so people don't... recognize me so fast." Mesbeto took some time to warm up to her idea, but when he did, he grinned deviously. Their owner had been saving for something more expensive, but...

      "How about... purple?"

      "No way, I don't want those dumb orange spots!"

      "Uh... skunk?"

      The Aisha took a moment, contemplating this. Finally, she shrugged. "I guess, I mean, why not? I've been wanting to blow some of that dopey owner's points for some time."

     ~*~

      Everything was blindingly white for a few moments, then the sounds of birds reached my ears. The light began to fade, and I was readjusting to the new scenery around me. Different smells from those in the lab met my senses: plants, fresh air, freshly baked goods, and other common rural scents. My eyes were also adjusting, allowing me to take in the sight of my surrounding. Trees surrounded the area, clustered around a few fields. Upon taking a closer look, I could see that the plants they were growing consisted of corn, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage.

      All of my senses had returned, save for my ability to feel. My body was numb all over, leaving me with an empty air. I looked down, to at least make sure that I had arrived all in one piece, and found that I was partially transparent. I made an attempt to pinch myself to have my paw fade through my targeted arm.

      I looked down, gasping and trying to flail my wings when I found that I was suspended in midair. My wings seemed to refuse the command, as if knowing that I was perfectly fine without them. I tested my movement; I was able to swing slightly in midair, but I couldn't make myself move. Sighing, I waited for a moment, taking the complexity of the situation in.

      A silver mass seemed to gather near me, and I turned/swung to look. MirrorEyes took a semi-transparent form next to me, regarding me with a lazy eye. "You wanted to see what happened, right? I won't do this twice."

      He leaned downwards and was propelled forward. I followed after at a clumsy swing. "W-wait..." I felt air whoosh past me as I flew downwards, then touched the ground and stumbled again. "Argh..."

      MirrorEyes sighed, then said, "Look, we can't be seen. Just follow me and watch, I don't want any questions or stupid things like that." Then he was off again, and I followed less clumsily. I felt a little annoyed - since when did he treat me so coldly? It was annoying that he acted like I was a little kid...

      We sped along the dirt road, passing by other pets without regarding them. I could vaguely hear the common chatter of the villagers, but then again, I supposed listening to them talk wasn't MirrorEyes's idea of amusement. He was probably more intent on getting to the point of his story.

      The scenery suddenly changed dramatically; we were whisked from the forest road to a small village. Trees still surrounded the outskirts of the small town, but it was also alive with activity. Pets in nearby stalls hammered away on newly forged weapons, while others advertised their home-made goods to the citizens that were window-shopping. Kids ran around, playing with sticks and dirt and the like, while there were hardly any things like toys for them to play with in the vicinity.

      A loud, clear voice caught my attention, and the transparent MirrorEyes turned to look upon the caller. I turned also, moved by the suggestion that anything he was paying attention to must have been important.

      "Yalina, Mescasho, look!"

      A young Christmas Zafara, actually looking about Hiterkuna's age, walked into the village with something silver and red slung over her back. I looked closer and suppressed a gasp when I saw a young silver Draik, severely wounded in many places and unconscious (or worse?). MirrorEyes said nothing, but an interested look crept onto his features, and I wondered why he was examining the child. Then I realized, and wanted to smack myself for my stupidity - this was the younger version of MirrorEyes.

      A Darigan Aisha and a Striped Acara came out slowly at first, but when the saw the burden the girl was carrying, they came at a run. The Acara, a male with a green tunic and a bow with arrows slung over his shoulder, carefully pulled the child from the Zafara's back. The Aisha, one who was donned in a black cloak and looking solemn, pulled another cloak from her pocket and replaced the Zafara's tattered cloak, then led her inside. I judged by female appearance that this could be Yalina. The other one must have been Mescasho.

      We followed the three into the tent, all the while being completely unnoticed by the pets in the village. Mescasho put the child down on a small mat, then pressed a washcloth to his forehead. He was young - maybe a little older than Hisika. Yalina looked a little younger than me, and I figured that this was the time before MirrorEyes's had been killed. They still had time to become a family, I supposed.

      Hisika leaned back, panting. "I healed some of his major wounds, but I couldn't... I'm sorry..." Yalina put a comforting paw on her sister's shoulder. "We don't expect much of you, you're still just a child." The girl nodded, still looking a little forlorn. I couldn't help but realize that she held a remarkable resemblance to Hiterkuna. The others also looked very much like my siblings... I wondered, were Yubioke and Mesbeto the reincarnated forms of these two?

      "Hisika, have some rest," Mescasho said. "When you're at full health, you can help him more later." Hisika nodded, and Yalina helped her up and escorted her to her room.

      "They all seem very close," I remarked calmly, and I wasn't very surprised to hear my voice echo.

      MirrorEyes nodded, smiling warmly at his family. "Things were very happy back then. Too bad... it all ended." The last sentence came out sadly.

      "Why was that?" I asked, confused.

      "I made a promise for something I couldn't keep," he said sadly. "When the pet I had made that promise to came to collect on her reward, she killed me in the process."

To be continued...