He scouted on the ground with his tail for a flashlight, till he 
found a small rock to work with. It was not sharp but it had a rough 
surface that would suffice. He dimmed his tail to the minimum he 
needed to see, and in the paired, blue-cool light sources of Clef and 
himself, he began to draw. 

Swirls and dots and shapes sprouted out from the point he started at, 
a form made in only light on dark. Chirin drew a form he wasn't sure 
who it was. He thought it was him, but as he let other beings guide 
his hand, it turned into a flaaffy with a long, many-striped tail and 
long stripy ears. He placed a bulb on the end of each one and Crazy 
Lights stared back at him.

"What do I see on this lazy night?
What calls to me through the darkening haze?
Who is the light I catch in my eye?
Come to my sight in a lightning craze."

He breathed deep, then his imagination told him where Crazy Lights 
was watching him from. He looked way up at the top of ths spire. In 
the dark he barely saw its slitted peak.

"Crazy Lights!" He laughed even in the danger-air. "How'd you get way 
up there?"

Crazy Lights swung himself around the spire with his hands and feet, 
twirling around and around in a descent until he landed before 
Chirin. 

"I sailed on jumpluffs. They're the ones who help me jump on treetips 
too."

Chirin whispered, "We have to be careful...you can smell those 
predators around just like I can, can't you?"

"Of course. I only came cause I missed you. You grew."

"So did you."

Chirin and Crazy Lights hugged.

"You know...it's weird, but even though I know you're just my old 
imaginary friend it's still fun to talk to you. I believe it's the 
spirits' way of reaching to me and helping me reach myself. Like my 
gift...but in a way I can't feel any other way."

"So, the truth comes out." Crazy Lights looked away. "you don't 
believe in me."

"Oh...I didn't mean it that way," said Chirin. He touched Crazy 
Lights' shoulder but Crazy shrugged him off.

"Leave me alone."

Chirin felt awful. Crazy Lights wasn't real, he wasn't...

"I can't let you make me feel this way." Chirin turned away. "you're 
a part of me, but not a real person. You're...a medium, a gateway for 
me to talk with the spirits...of something. But..."

"Phos's light to you," said Crazy Lights. Tears shone in his 
eyes. "You're not the friend I thought I'd found."

Crazy Lights turned and pushed away through the grass. Chirin thought 
he almost heard a swishig of blades.

"No! Come back!"

Chirin pushed after him. He was just pretending, this was all 
pretend...He knew Crazy Lights wasn't real. But he had to get through 
the grass. "I'm sorry!"

Chirin ran through a dual realm, one where he pursued his crushed 
friend and the other where he crouched and dimmed his light, feeling 
hunted. He had stayed here to make an offering and instead he had 
ended up playing games--with enemies nearby.

He moped back to the drawing. It looked back at him with forlorn eyes 
of light. "Cracy Lights, I'm sorry."

No answer came. *You know, Chirin,* he thought to himself, as 
himself, *you can just make crazy lights come back and forgive him.*

No, he couldn't. It somehow didn't seem right...as if Crazy Lights 
wouldn't really do that. 

*He is not real.*

It was time to get back to those who were real--the dead who had 
forgiven him, Goldie and Slink, whom he had done his best for, Azalea 
who needed him...and Selden, Calima and Mecha, waiting for him on the 
bank. 

"Crazy Lights, if you ever forgive me, send me a sign."

He pushed his way back through the grass towards the northwest shore.

~

Snake watched the island. She remembered when Calima had tried to go there, in hopes of finding Chirin. She had nearly drowned. Now Calima was lost...gone. Silver tears trickled down the pink ekans' cheeks. "Calima...where are you?" Snake murmured. She stared at the island. Could Calima, or Chirin, possibly be there? She would search it another time. Chirin was most likely NOT on that island...or was he? 

~

Chirin-chirin, weaving his way closer back to the northwest shore, paused for another sniff and listen. If Crazy Lights wasn't real why did he feel a faint dent of hurt? Why did he regret what he had said? 

He paused to chew cud and ponder whether to go...or wait a moment longer. What was he waiting for? For Crazy Lights to come back? If he felt this regret and guilt, who was to say that Crazy Lights had not acted as a pathway for spirits to speak to him from the other realm, and tell him something was afoot? 

That would imply that Crazy Lights existed. A medium had a soul too. 

He sighed. It was all too confusing. He stopped to pass droppings and remembered the saying that he should just leave it all with his pile. 

A strong whiff of houndour snapped his pondering in two. He started down the rocks, eager to have the water in sight and in reach. He might be able to see the lamb's light from the island, and signal back before starting his return swim. 
A smoke smell stopped his descent, then started it up again, climbing 
down faster to get to where he could see its source. Chirin stared 
out at the north where a fire thundered, rumbling as it fed on the 
forest. The flame-light flirted from behind a pallor of screaming 
trees and the smoke rose black, contoured by Clef. Far off he heard 
voices and fear. 

"Selden!"

Chirin stumbled down the rocks, half skidding towards the scant 
shoreline. A forest fire was stomping its way towards his friends and 
he had a long swim to get there. He could find Selden and swim him to 
this island, the best sanctuary he could think of. Surely the dead 
would allow them sancuary here...

But what about Calima, too heavy to swim?

The firelight ducked out of view as he descended. Still on the rocky, 
steep trail of bald spots in the grass, Chirin puled taut the 
electric current inside him. Facing the rocks so his tail pointed 
landwards, he released his static in a blue flash and boom. 

What if Azalea was in the fire? 

~

Kuroirihi broke his concentration 'Hmm.... someone's here with us.." Kuroirihi looked around and sniffed "Mareep? what? what on earth is a Mareep doign here anyways? artemis, go check" Kuroirihi grinned "dont kill anyhting, we also want to eat... jsut make sure anyone else is on here." 

Artemis did as she was told this time, for she was too hungry to object. Artemis's nose took to the ground and with one short sniff, she was off...she ran up a short incline and soon came to hearing small hooves shifting. But Artemis couldn't tell how many were there, so Artemis quietly walked behind a rock and looked up, getting a good enought veiw of the Mareep and it seem to be only one. Artemis turned around and swiftly and silently her padded paws carried Artemis through the area back to Kuroirihi and Erik. Artemis was gone for possibly 20 minutes. Exhusted, Artemis told Kuroirihi. 

"M'lord, there is only one mareep, about 10 minutes from here. Not too far."

~

Plans of gathering Selden, Calima and anyone else in need of their companionship, and fleeing south to get clear of te fire, were tumbling through his head and clashing with his fears that Azalea was somewhere near the fire and in danger...when Chirin froze on the island's face. He had heard growling, barklike voices--canine voices. they were some distance away. A sudden whiff of houndour smell-- juveniles--breathing and padding, quiet feet on the slop above him, sent his *denki* into a fizzing frenzy. He fumbled down the rest of the way and landed on the shoreline at last. Giving the area a quick glance, he waded down into the water and gave himself to the lake's sharp dropoff. 
~

Kuroirihi grinned and licked his lips    
-nice food,  at last-

"very well Artemis,  you diserve a good part of it"

Kuroirihi nodded to Erik  "Let's go,   We get the
lunch and then we head straigth to the mainland to
find those Marowak!


* * * 

Chirin kicked off into the water, his feet leaving the rocky bottom. Backstroking, the flaaffy saw heads appear silhouetted by the rising moon, up on the ledge. He thought he saw a graceful black shape slipping down the trail he had scrambled down only moments before. 

He glanced at the shore he was headed to. Selden's light shone weak and warm, a beacon for him. 

~

Artemis lead them to the ledge she had found the flaffy. Noticing it gone Artemis swiftly looked around. Angered slightly, and a faint sound of grumbling came from her empty stomach. Artemis looked out into the ridge and say a blackened shape out in the water, and there was a slight glow. Imediately knowing what it was. And something more this flaffy was doing for them, leading them straight where they had to go...shore. Artemis yipped quietly then spoke softly to the 2 male travelers. 

"The flaffy has taken to the water, yet...I believe it's heading for shore. Why else? Most likely it has friends out where the fire has started. Might as well catch lunch on the way!" 

Artemis slid down the exact slope the flaffy did, and she reached the shoreline soon, awaiting the others. 


"Hop In!" 


Kuroirihi barked and created again a dark sphere, faint enough to allow for them to jump in, the sphere floated in the water, as Kuroirihi eyed the swimming Mareep ahead... 

~

There was something big and far away, something waking up. Selden 
smelled the smoke and it sprung him to his feet. The only fire he had 
ever seen had occasionally spouted from Striper's mouth, and those 
memories of home had faced clean. But the fear sweeping over him now 
was from a fear that ran deeper than memory.

"What--what is that?" He looked to the north. "What's happening?"

Mecha's head jerked up "What is wh--" He was cut off as a faint orange glow stood out against the horizon of the forest just ever-so-slightly, more clear due to the dark night sky. It was familiar...fire...

His eyes widened. Fire...again...? Had he been too late...? What if this could have been avoided?! He gulped, then looked at Selden. Should he say what was happening? He couldn't very well go fight it now as he had before...he had a responsibility to watch over Selden and Calima. 

Should he tell Selden what was happening...? It didn't seem right not to...

He composed himself as much as possible. "Selden...don't panick. It's a fire..but it's not near us. Not yet. We'll wait here for Chirin to come back, but if it comes too close, we'll move on. I'm sure he'd understand if we did. But remember...whatever you do, don't panick. Denrai will make sure that you stay safe." Mecha flashed a slight smile before nudging Calima.Best to let her know too... 

few dark shapes flowed down the slope as Chirin swam harder, and 
through his splashing he heard the lead one bark. He thrashed towards 
the shore as the dark ball of something engulfed the canine and the 
rest of the pack disappeared into it. 

The ball began to drift after him, like a bubble pushed by wind, 
without weight or drag, nothing holding it back from moving at 
unnatural speed.

Darkness--like shadows blooming. Chirin discharged blue wires of 
light from his tail towards the shadowy ball, not too powerfully, so 
as to avoid using it all up. He was close enough that they would feel 
it, especially within the water--if it would even affect them. The 
wise part of him down in his gut told him he was dealing with the 
great force rearing up to torture the lake. 

* * *

Calima looked away from Seldon and Mecha, and towards the Lake. She mumbled some words to herself. And she sang a little song to herself. She was a pretty good singer for a nidorina. She was thinking of her parents, who she could barely remember... 

Selden scrambled out of his cotton bed and ran to the water's edge. 
He waved his tail and brightened it to its peak. "I see you! You're 
coming!"

Selden saw only chirin's light and heard his sparks. He did not see 
the balloon of black shifting over the water's surface after the pink 
sheep.

* * *

Chirin paddled to his huffing breath, hearing the air rushing in and 
out of raw lungs. Splashing and panting rules his ears and terror 
ruled his mind. He fought through the water towards Selden... and 
began to charge his body up again, feeling its electricity gather. 

~

Artemis's paw slipped out of the sphere slightly, the water stung her paw painfully. But for some reason, it didn't hurt as much. Perhaps being in water so much latly dimmed the pain for a little. Artemis quickly pulled her paw back in and concentrated on Kuroirihi even more, the sphere began to speed up slightly. Artemis's eyesight stayed attached to the mareep. 
~

"He's coming," said Selden, and suddenly the fire felt like no threat. Chirin's blue tail light rolling under the water around his kicking legs, illuminated his dear friend fast approaching. It was all going to be okay. 

"Geroff me...What's wrong Mecha?" Calima mumbled. 

Keeping his eyes on his dark-dog worries, Mecha replied "There's a fire, but not near here, and we're ALL in trouble!"

~
chirin kicked, keeping his legs straight and stiff and strong. But the ball was still gaining on him. In the light his bulb provided a black clawed paw reached out from the lightless sphere, then withdrew back in. A bleat escaped him on a shard of precious air. Around him was icy water and inside his throat was fire. 

His *denki* brimmed inside of him. With a clench running all along his spine, the wave of energy passed down the vertebrae, building as it rolled. It culminated in a spate of white-blue light thundering out like vines at the ball that floated scant paces behind him. And the lake was electric. 


~

the smile on the Eclipseon didnt lasted too long, as they closed in, a wave of electricity rushed to their direction, Kuroirihi made his best to pull the sphere up, but it didnt resulted, the wave surrounded the black orb, absorbing most of the shock.

 Kuroirihi strained, the tingling feeling of the pulse climbed up his paws tensing every muscle in his body from the outside, the sphere seemed to become transparent and fade for a second, but it regained its original darkness again Kuroirihi panted "come on, i need some support here or else we'll be in the water again!" 

*I am Denrai. I am Denrai.* As his elemental power released, Chirin 
chanted the mantra inside his head, willing himself to believe it, 
that he had the ancient ram's blood in his veins and *denki* in his 
tail. He could make it to shore.

Through the giant orb's faltering flicker, his lightning illuminated 
the faces of snarling dark dogs. But one of them had not looked like 
a houndour. He struggled to remember what it had been. The tales of 
Burakuru swooped thorugh his thoughts and he swam harder. Burakuru? 
Here and now? What other place, what other time for the Dark Ewe to 
leap out of hiding? 

"No--" Chirin splashed more weakly towards the shore, his limbs heavy 
with exhaustion. He was reaching the ends of his energy and despite 
his resolve to keep up speed, he was losing ground. Selden was moving 
around out on the beach but Chirin, trapped inside a head full of 
rasping pants, could not hear what he was shouting. He was fire and 
pain and rawness, pushing his limits and bumping against stars in his 
eyes.

The shore loomed far away, and the ball, shoved back by his attack, 
was closing the gap again. Chirin readied his body for another long 
spark. 

Few thoughts got a grip in his mind for long besides swimming faster 
towards Selden's tail light, spurred on by pursuit. but one thought 
fluttered in and hovered, a foolish flame: *You left Crazy Lights on 
the island.*

Kuroirihi glanced down at the water, and saw a small figure moving in the shore... "Food!' Kuroirihi howled and dashed down to the lakeshore "COme on you two! let's stop our lunch!" 

Mecha's eyes narrowed "Selden, get back!" Moving in front of the young lamb protectively, he unleashed the unslaught of razor sharp feathers he had ready. ~*PLEASE let this work!~* Mecha pleaded mentally. 
It looked to Chirin as if Selden's warm glow had birthed a bird of 
light and fire. He saw Mecha then move in front of the lamb. Shafts 
of yellow light, glinting down their lengths, speared through the air 
over Chirin's head just as he was about to release his electricity 
again. He realized they were Mecha's feathers, slicing towards the 
dark ball. 

Chirin tried to shout a thanks but his greedy lungs could not stop 
pulling on the air. The knowledge that his friends were protecting 
him churned through his spent body. He was not alone.

He knew that without the lake spirit keeping him afloat he would have 
long since drowned or been unborn into the ball of dark. Flipping on 
his back to change strokes and better see his hunter, he watched to 
see if his own attack would be needed. 

Mure...Crazy Lights...People there but not there flashed in and out 
of his star-washed mind's eyes. *I forgive you,* he imagined Crazy 
Lights saying. He was pulling away form the ball...but leading it 
towards his friends. 

"Houn...Houn..." he tried to shout to Mecha. 

Chirin was drawing near enough for Selden to see the desperation in his movements. His tail was flashing alarm and something like a big round cloud of black was following him. 

* * * 

"Mech...Mecha!" Chirin gasped, swimming on his stomach again, his arms flailing on the surface and making spats of water leap. No light reflected off the shadow ball. It absorbed his soul's radiance like smoke. 

Artemis felt the shock, but they weren't wet and they didn't make a full 
circut so it only stung for a few seconds. Artemis's legs seemed to tingle, 
like they were being tickled. Artemis got dissy for a moment and almost 
blacked out and suddenly her mind snapped! And a vision of Artemis's brother 
came...

"ARTEMIS! What do you think your doing? What you want to die? You want to 
not fufill what you promised to do?"

Artemis shook her head...

"But, but I didn't do anything wrong! I am impressing Kuroirihi and...and 
Erik. I've done a lot!"

Din grins at Artemis...

"Ah, but there is a problem Artey, Love, and Power...you need to train your 
dark power so it can grow stronger and that pitiful Erik is holding you back 
for you love him."

Just then Artemis snapped back to reality and shook her head and then 
automaticly started to channel her power more and more to Kuroirihi, 
thinking of what Artemis's brother said to her.


Mecha, who had no idea of what a Houndour was to start off with, looked at the incoming Chirin with curiousity for a moment. After a moment, he unleashed another metal ambush at the dark sphere. But if it didn't work...then what...? 

any moment his feet would brush bottom, any moment...He could see the bed of the lake, revealed in his light. Tiny fish darted out of his way, startled by the foreign blue shine; plants swayed silently. Chirin noticed a couple of fish floating on the surface of the lake and knew that his *denki* had killed them. 

The thought lodged itself in a nook in the back of his head. nothing mattered now but throwing off his chasers and living. He swam through a different realm, two realms at once. Stars slashed his vision, and nothing was as loud as his painful breaths. 

The shock came coiling out of him, blasting towards the black ball. And Chirin spoke to the spirits. 

*Please...help me...* 

If Mecha hadn't been a bird, he would have bit his lip right then and there. Chirin needed help...but...what could he...what if they got to Selden and Calima...?

What could he...?! 

The razor sharp feathers did nothing to the 3 in the dark ball. For it darted straight over their heads. The dark ball seemed to come closer, closer to Chirin....reaching the shoreline soon. Then it would be an all out battle basicly. Artemis inside did nothing but think of what happened, what was happening, and channeling her dark energy to Kuroirihi. 

"Get them away!" 

Chirin thrust the words out just as his lungs drew another gasp. "coming!" He slowed down but his body would not stop inflating and contracting, grabbing for air and sliding against his voice with each pull and push. "Mecha! Selden and Calima! Get them safe! They're coming!" 

Mechs eyes widened as he spied paw emerging and going back into a ball shape following Chirin. What to do what to do...? He couldn't leave Selden and Calima undefended...

But he prepared himself to unleash a fury of razor sharp feathers, in case they got too close to his friend... 

Stars blinded him as he resumed his desperate breaths. His feet brushed bottom and his mind flooded with thanks to his ancestors who had pushed his back. Chirin did not leave the water yet. He began to charge himself again. 

"Chirin!" Selden ran towards him. "I know you could do it!" 

"Selden! Get away! Mecha!" He called for someone, anyone, to come down and toss him a spark of Denrai, anything to let him breathe on past these pursuing hunters. 

Mecha felt relieved "Chirin!" To know he was back was like one weight lifted...of many. 

~

Snake sighed and looked up at the sky. It was pretty. She remembered her dream about having wings. She pictured herself with wings, and nearly doubled over with laughter. A winged ekans? That would look so silly, it would! "A winged ekans? Puh-lease!" Snake said, laughing. 

~


"Get them away! Selden!" Chirin stumbled as his hoof-tipped feet 
jogged through the water, wrestling against its hold. "Selden! 
Hide..."

His body buckled and wilted into the water. Chirin got water up his 
nose. His woolly hair hung in his eyes as he stood up again in the 
waist-high water and lifted his head up, not knowing which way was 
which. Throwing back his soaked hair he found himself staring up at 
the great big ball that smouldered with blacknes. It bore down on 
him. 

*Not a scared soul stirs,
In this tree of blight.
Not a tail or head flickers,
No stripes of black nor bellies white.
Phos of day,
Surge through these hands,
Let me live,
give me sight
To call on my kind when my denki is slight
My strength is gone,
but never my light...*


Chirin was drawing near enough for Selden to see the desperation in his movements. His tail was flashing alarm and something like a big round cloud of black was following him. 

* * * 

"Mech...Mecha!" Chirin gasped, swimming on his stomach again, his arms flailing on the surface and making spats of water leap. No light reflected off the shadow ball. It absorbed his soul's radiance like smoke. 


Mecha's eyes softened but he nodded "Selden! Calima! We have to move!" He hated to say it, and hated even more to just LEAVE Chirin like this...but...

He nudged Selden "This way Chirin won't have to worry about us, and he'll be able to fight them more easily, and run without worrying. We have to move!" 


The ball of darkness reached shore, and out of the darkness came a houndour of the night. It pounced at electric sheep. It's fur as black as night, the silver upon the houndour's body was darker than a normal houndour's and instead of two silver strips on a houndours back, this one had 3. There was also a small midnight blue gem that hung around it's neck. Suddenly the menicing dark steel blue eyes of the houndour were looking right at you. Sharp white teeth bared, and the houndour growled. Artemis was hungry and would surely eat the mareep if it wasn't for Kuroirihi who said not to kill. But to sure the meal Artemis let out a Fire Spin, the fire was strong for Artemis hadn't used her fire much, for she had no means to. Snickering Artemis looked at them, fire burned within the houndour's eyes. 
Selden watched the oncoming dogs and dark with staring, tharn eyes, as if those eyes could not see without Chirin there beside him. Chirin burst from the shallows. "No!" They were preying on Selden-- because he had led them here! The fires from the nighthound's mouth would surely swallow him, body and soul. They had been born of the evil possessing the lake and the island. And now these soul-eaters were after the little spot of light that was Chirin, Selden, Mecha and Calima. 
"Denraiiii!" Chirin screamed with a raw-throated voice, the word flung out on a deeper voice than he had once had. He threw himself at Selden and pushed him down in the water, out of the path of the oncoming twist of fire. The fire-beast snaked down towards Chirin. His wool blew in the wind it made as it rushed at him. 

Mecha's eyes widened at the sight of the houndour. Unleashing an attack of fire...

On instinct alone, for once, he wrapped his wings protectively around Selden

The houndour growled, and awaited for Kuroirihi and Erik. 

Chirin, still in the water, dived under. The whirling flames stormed around him and clipped at his ears and head as he dropped flat into the lake. A hiss of turbulence churned up around the flaaffy ram. chirin felt hot scythes of bubbles burst around and against him. Steam exploded from the surface. 

Scalded, Chirin screamed out his precious air, flapping deeper into cold water. Its chill helped to numb the burns. But the pain followed him still, dipping below his skin. It clung cloying like claws that had hooked in his flesh. His snout surfaced and his mouth yawned in a bleating gasp, showing pink tongue and white teeth as he dragged in air. He paddled out further, realizing he had a better chance with them from in the water. A warm, small light was swimming out towards him from almost behind him. He saw Selden among the reeds, then slipping in off the beach. 

"I'm coming, Chirin, I'm coming to help!" 

"Selden! Get with Mecha! What are you doing! I don't want you hurt!" He stood belly deep in the water but bent to his neck, his flippers held out to urge Selden back. But the dogs now stood between the two sheep and the escape route. Chirin let Selden get his front feet round his neck. It was all he could do to keep the mareep from sinking. And he readied his *denki*. He turned tail on the houndours and fired it. 


Mecha looked back to Calima "RUN! Go now!" He took off, flying above the fire dogs. Chirin had fired a bolt...but Mecha stood by by air to help them if he could. IF he could... 


Calima growled at the houndour. A rage such as never before filled her. The white nidorina's eyes turned red, burning like balls of fire. She charged at the houndour on top of Seldon. "You have messed with the wrong nidorinAAA!" Calima yelled, charging at the houndour. 

~

Snake sighed again and uncurled herself. It was time to continue searching for Chirin again. She saw that she could not escape going a bit closer to the human territory, but unless she wanted to swim (and she didn't), then she would have to. "Here I go then," Snake said to herself. "This is all for Calima...And I do miss Chirin a bit I do." The pink ekans slithered onwards. 


She neared the human territory. So many things! So many smells, and humans...She edged further away from the human place. It made her uneasy, and she feared that if she got too close then she would find herself in a cage with humans staring and bidding for her, and then forcing her to do battle when she didn't want to...Snake shuddered. That would be just like it was when she was a Team Rocket pokemon. "I hate humans," Snake mumbled. "They are cruel...Making pokemon fight against their will..." 


Twice, Snake had to keep out of sight of a human. They were away from the town, and looking for wild pokemon to put on display. Snake knew a few human things, as she used to be a human's pokemon. She slithered onwards, hoping that she would find Chirin and Calima soon... 


Chirin saw the red eyes that had blazed against him once. Now they had turned on his enemies--their enemies. He wondered if she would succeed. This spirit that dwelled in her had taken on Arboks and won. It was dangerous, like a feeling without a mind, and right now, it was on their side. Beginning to catch his breath and feel the beating that his huffing and puffing had dealt to his chest, Chirin almost bleated for her to get in the water, but she was blocked from the water, and there was no talking to her while she was possessed by the other-being this way. And perhaps...just perhaps...that horn would strike. Time seemed to slow down as he hugged Selden against him, feeling caught in a storm of fire, water, lightning and poison rage. 


And as his last lightning cracked out towards the hounds, Chirin felt Selden squirming, trying to get his tail above the water. Chirin hefted him up and felt the little woolly body jolt, pushing them backwards as the mareep, small but fresh and energized, joined Chirin's attack with his own. Like a tributary to a river it flowed in against the other bolt. Chirin toppled back and landed with a splash underwater, with Selden on top of him. 

Kuroirihi leapt in the way of the bolt and braced
himself

everything turned different for a instant, the
reality changed for the Eclipseon as the bolt surged
his body

Kuroirihi gritted his teeth, and drew ack his head, as
if he where about to Howl, but he kept silent
reciving the discharge

-enough!-
Kuroirihi left his pain to take over his energy, from
within him a powerful Dark explosion of energy surged
and channeled outwards neutralizing the electric
discharge

Chirinshoved his feet back under him and tried to push himself back out of the water, holding Selden up. But Selden was suddenly very heavy. Chirin grabbed a breath and fell again. His hold on Selden slipped. Beneath the water, his tail began to emit a pure white radiance, right in front of him, obscuring Selden. 


Kuroirihi fell to the ground, still in all four,
slowly recovering, as soon aas he had breath he
barked at Chirin "Nice try kid, but It's not enough
to stop a demon!"

"Artemis! you can have that one, have fun!"
kuroirihi blew yet another firewall between them and
Callima
"I could care less for nidorans, but you're not the
one I'm looking for, so leave before I kill you too!"


the dark firedog turned his gaze to Chirin again and
slowly walked towards him, not even minding when he
stepped into the cold water

"SO.... now its just you and Me..."


Chirin realised that the light blooming at his feet was not his tail. 
He reached into it and hauled Selden up to his feet...catching the 
brand new flaaffy under the arms. Two flaaffies stood side by side, 
one belly deep in the water, the other one neck deep. Selden stared 
at the demon hound and then at Chirin, with a harrowed but saintly 
smile. 

"I'm...I'm like you now," he said. Chirin realized that Selden was 
not afraid that they both might die here. 

"It's going to be okay," he said--hollow words that the littler 
flaaffy absorbed like water in wool. Beneath the water, Chirin held 
Selden's flipper in his own and faced the demon's snarling face. 
Selden's evolution hd given him new strength and hope. Had it been 
the sight of a light so beautiful? Or was it knowing that if he 
failed, they would both die? 


"I know you're of the darkness that the lake fears." He gulped, 
watching clouds of pure shadow engulf the air around the demon and 
what had once been Chirin's own lightning. The water lapped under the 
dark's hovering feet. To his left, across the lake, he could see the 
fire jumping higher into the night, leaping at the crowns of trees. 
The smoke stench scraped at his raw lungs. They would have to flee 
south...if they got away from this...

Chirin charged up anyway, and felt Selden doing the same without his 
having said a thing. Selden was doing it because Chirin was; they 
must be one in his mind, he thought, touched. Tears glistened on his 
face, one with the water as he readied his powers. Yet he didn't know 
if it would even do anything. This was not a normal creature.

If it hadn't been male he would have known who it was. The evil dark 
canine was also an eater of light...didn't they say the Dark Ewe 
could do that?

Was it? Burakuru in disguise? Had this one taken Azalea away to that 
marowak?

He waited until Selden was ready too, and then, knowing he needed no 
cue, he stepped forward, enough so that Selden's tail was above 
water. Chirin released the amphoric surge, and the little flaaffy 
followed suit. Both bolts arced a jagged path towards the demon.

"Where is Azalea!" Chirin screamed, drowned out by the double boom.


 Calima screamed and fell back. The fire wall had burned her shoulder. She got up. It had burned the uninjured shoulder. She looked at the eclipseon. It was going to kill Chirin...There was no stopping it...But maybe she could stop it... Maybe... Calima growled, and walked in front of the demon. She stood in between him and Chirin. She snarled. "You mean...Just me and you. I will not let you hurt Chirin...Not if I can help it. I may die, but by God I'm gonna make sure you go down first," Calima said. Her eyes were no longer red. It seemed that the evil inside of her had been replaced with light. She could have sworn that she saw a black mist shoot out from her body and dissapear. But she must have been imagining it. "I will not let you hurt Chirin. You and your demon buddies will not win. Together, all of the good pokemon can work together and make a stronger light. The light that can overthrow you all." Calima braced herself for the pain she was going to recieve. But, even if she did die, she would die knowing that Chirin was safe. She glared at the eclipseon. 

"Go on, I'm ready!" Calima said angrily. 

~

Snake sighed in relief as she slithered further and further away from the human place. She looked up in the air. She saw something...Smoke. She panicked. Smoke? That meant... "FIRE!" Snake yelled. She slithered at top speed. She edged closer to the water. She was going to fast, and tears of fear made her vision so blurry, that she didn't realize that she was going closer to the fire... 

~

"Calima NOOO!" The bolts that both flaffies had daggered at the demon hound were already free. A twin boom and twin flash was all they saw. It happened at the speed of light. Chirin, his skin stinging with scalds and his muscles aching with exhaustion, stood tensed as stone, molars gritted against pain, and prayed mah-mah. 

Calima choked back a scream as the electric attack hit her. She struggled to move. She slowly moved closer to Kurohihi. He was going to get a taste of this pain as well. She got closer, and put a paw on his own, and in a blinding flash of light, watched as the electric charge surged into his body as well...Or did it? Calima couldn't see to good...She shut her eyes tight, and hoped that Kurohihi had gotton shocked as well. 

The last attack had taxed Chirin's soul. He knew, because he was 
bobbing in and out of his own body, wavering between the two realms...

Houndsbane hung in the backwoods of his head, dried tendrils draped 
over rain-wet monoliths. Their blades dribbled down and scratched at 
the grey stone, in a misty wind under cloudiness. And on the green 
slopes red lights played tag. 

Mama browsed on bushes, feeding just below him, ready to stop him 
should he fall. 

He fell.

"Chirin! Chirin!"

Selden had propped himself against Chirin as the bigger flaaffy 
wilted forward. A lungful of water brought him up trying to cough, 
and struggling to breathe. Air reached down in him at last through a 
thread-thin tunnel in his throat. 

What if the dark thing and his two houndours continued to attack? How 
long could he hold out? He started the recharging process again, 
dredging up energy from stores wiped empty. 


Mecha sighed...so much for getting Calima and Selden safe...

Well, if that were the case..then he could help protect Chirin as well! He took off again, flying low this time. Throwing Chirin one of those 'can't-say-I-didn't-try' looks with a slight mareepish grin, he launched yet another attack on the devil-dogs. 


Snake slithered onwards. She saw something...Calima...and two flaaffy...One had to be Chirin...It smelled just like him...and the other smelled like Seldon. Snake watched in horror as Calima met two electric attacks from Chirin and Seldon, and as she touched the paw of the eclipseon so the attack would affect him too. "CALIMA!! NOOOO!" Snake yelled, slithering over at top speed. 

She stopped. She would get shocked to...She would get Chirin and Seldon out of the way... Then help Calima... "Chirin...Do not be afraid...It is me, Snake..." Snake hissed, trying to push Chirin and Seldon out of the water and onto land. 

Snake? Chirin only vaguely remembered the pink ekans, but an ekans who said she would not attack, and didn't, was nothing to fear beside the demons he faced. He pushed her nudging coils away from himself and Selden. "We need to stay in the water. Those are houndours, fire beings. The water's our only hope and our *denki* is stronger within it." 

Once finished, she fired a stream of poison needles at Kurohihi. She didn't bother to see if they had hit, for the electric blast had sizzled away, and Calima had collapsed in a heap. Knowing her weakness to water, Snake quickly slithered over and dragged her over to Chirin and Seldon. 

"Snake...?" Calima muttered, vomiting. "You...found us..." 

"Yes Calima...It'll be alright..." Snake said softly. She turned to face Kurohihi. She fired another stream of poison needles at him. 


In the fracas, Chirin huggled Selden in his flipper. His grasp shook, the muscles too tired and beaten to hold onto anything reliably. "I owe you my life." 

"Rest, Chirin," said Selden. "You can rest behind me while I defend us both." 

Mecha, deciding that his attacks must not be doing good in the least by this point, seeing no damage being done, went for his other metal attack...hopefully, it would work. He hadn't used it since he had first evolved after all...

With a few flaps of his wings, a metallic counterpart of the typical gust attack began to form, aimed directly at those who threatened their lives... 

Chirin felt the back-current of a wind new to him, pouring out from his shining bird friend. Mecha had powers of weather, he commanded the air spirits. Regaining some of his strength, he stood up straight and resumed charging up again. Seeing those great wings flap and sensing the upsweep of a fresh flock of air...infused him with strength and freshness himself. 

Kuroirihi merely turned around and hit Callima with
his paw in a swift slash aimed rigth at the Nidorina's
side

"Insignificant filth! how dare you attack ME!?!?"

Chirin winced at the blow striking at Calima, the bar of black swiping in at white, all lit by Chirin's own tail light in the water. He struggled to charge faster, but you could not hurry a tired soul. 


the poison pins made contact, Kuroirihi just tensed
his muscles and the pins that had made contact with
his skin fell off effortlessly, nothing but a mere
stinging itch remained, with a sly smile Kuroirihi
shook his head at Snake
"I dont like your taste, so go away NOW!"

"$^#*^@&%!!! ERIK!!!!!! GO AFTER THE $#(@&&^&^@#(&@
SHEEPS!!!!!!! DONT JSU STAY THERRE!!!!!"

Kuroirihi glared back at Callima "and now it's your
turn!"

Kuroirihi's words got interrputed, his side got
stabbed by several annoying feathers of steel, 
shakign them off, Kuroirihi looked up at Mecha
"fine!!!!! BE IT! YOU ASKED FOR IT BAG OF FEATHERS!
NOW YOUR FRIENDS WILL PAY FOR YOUR STUPIDITY!!!!!"

ignoring the incoming gust, The Eclipseon's anger
swelled up, his red eyes had a gleam on them, his
black body absorbed every light around, his fire
marks gave off a final flicker before disapearing, 
the last thing everyone could see of the Eon was pair
of red eyes.. wich soon disapeared too....


Chirin ran up out of the water till his tail reached above the surface. He shone it at where the demon had disappeared. The only clue of where he was was where Chirin's bulb's beam ended, swallowed by a smokelike black that was the shadows interwoven with shards of blue on the water, the spaces between stars in the sky...the shaded sides of trees far up the beach and of the other two hounds' black bodies. 

The shifting dark of the demon seemed to bloat the black near where it hovered. "Mo--mokoko--" Chirin turned every which way, ready with another strike but not knowing where to fling it. 

"Chirin--where--where is he?" Selden whimpered against his belly. "Did he go away?" 

"No... I don't think so..." All the noises of battle--barks, squeals, splashes...seemed to louden as Chirin shone his light over swaths of water and air, searching and not finding...all the while seeing something out the back of his eye. The demon was drawing closer. 

"By the light of Phos! Leave me!" Chirin ducked his hands in the water and swung them up, flipping ropes of water out in all directions, hoping to strike the demon and drench it away. 


Erik growled lowly at Kuroirihi, but agreed, food is food after all! 

the water behind Chirin got sligthly aggitated, and a loud bark coming rigth from behind Chirin filled the souls of everyone, just a instant later, From Chirin's side, a siluethe marked with the steaming water Chirin had thrown at it rose its paw and slashed rigth at Chirin without a warning 

"Uh!" The blows cut into his face and whirled him around sideways. He fell into the water. Selden, still clutching Chirin's belly, fell with him. 

Chirin bounced back up, feeling tingles on his face where the claws had gashed him. He struck out lightning breaking out over the surface of the water and skipping up towards the unseen hound. The demon was assuming the forms of many things and elements. 

"Chirin! You're bleeding!" Selden hid behind him. "Chirin!" 

"I'm okay." 

the lighting took the form of the Dark eeveelution as
if it where a Jolteon charging up, but instead, 
when the electricity faded out it revealed a VERY
angered Eclipseon

Chirin knew it. He was staring into the face of the mate, of Burakuru, at the best...at the worst, Burakuru in a male disguise. His tail's tired beam shone on a black face folded in a snarl. 



Kuroirihi panted, trying to recover from that shock
-literally-

Kuroirihi grinned at them, and nooded up
"watch out" he said in a dull way


as announced, Erik leapt up to pounce over both Chirin
and Selden baring his teeth at them..

Chirin's tail coughed up weak sparks, a ghost of the barrage that had found its demon target. "Duck!" He submerged as Erik tumbled into him. Holdinghis breath, he kicked out at the firehound and tumbled over him in a murky black grapple. He lunged up for air but the weight of Erik bore down on him. He fought to hold the dog's teeth off his neck as he charged up. 

The water buzzed alive with what must have been Selden's bolt. Chirin wriggled free of the houndour and splashed up... 

Kuroirihi yelped and leapt up in pain, he glared a
final time at the Sheeps, and made his way to the
shore, finally, in nice ground
"I hope you just get eaten by a bunch of hungry
seaking"


Erik on his paw, didnt wanted to leave it at that,
dazed by the constant discharges he glared at Selden 
and snarled at him, he got up from the cold water and
took a hunting stance

"You wont get yout way with me again!" Erik threw
himself against Selden, with a plan in mind...



A rush of water leaped up at Chirin, mixed with the Ledian stardust 
framing his vision and leaking in, swirls of dark gold lacing the 
form of Erik jumping in behind Chirin and ripping Selden off of him.

"SELDEN!" Chirin whirled round and jumped the Houndour's back as Erik 
snarled. The last of his drained *denki* choked pathetic fizzes of 
static onto the Houndour's body, but the other flaaffy was fresh. 
Chirin felt Selden's electricity fill the waters around them, and he 
let its edges channel in him. Blinking in and out of consciousness 
Chirin grappled his flippers around the Houndour's shoulders and 
neck. He had to tear the dog off before it found his dear friend's 
neck...

Chirin, Selden and Erik churned up the water white and red. The 
houndour abandoned Selden and sprang at Chirin, sensing that he was 
now the weaker of the two. The last thing Chirin felt before his back 
hit bottom and water reached up his nose was the dog's paws and mouth 
bombarding him with spears of teeth and claws. 

Then it was just him and Erik, Chirin blindly holding back the dog's 
jaws from reaching his throat. 

He jammed his flipper into Erik's mouth, and felt the teeth bite down 
on the rubbery flesh.

If not for the nausea spreading up from his stomach to his windpipe 
as his body cried for oxygen, Chirin would have let the breath out 
and screamed as half hif flipper was nearly wrenched off its socket. 
the dog gave one tug, then he felt the pressure on his arm easing...


the cold water stung Erik and as he digged his teeth
on Chirin's skin water rushed in, Erik backed up in
pain coughing out the Water
Erik stumbled back to the ground and fell heavily on
his side panting for air as he coughed up the last of
the water

Chiri-chirin broke the surface again, barely aware or sure of 
anything except that he was breathing, breathing more passionately 
than he ever had, more so than when he ran hard as he could, more 
than when he thought or dreamed of Azalea, he was struggling for air, 
something he could not cling to his body for more than moments 
without.

The gentle lip of the water moving up over his snout again jerked him 
back to awareness. He stumbled towards shore and fell to all fours in 
leg-deep shallows. 

"Selden..." His middle heaved with coughs and water came up. One arm, 
the one Erik had chewed up, was too wounded to shoulder its share of 
his weight, even in the water. Dazed by the effort he nearly fell on 
his belly. Where was the demon...Where was Selden? Where was 
anything? Had he died already, and was only now breaching the rim of 
awareness into the other land?

He thought he heard splashing nearby, but as his vision tumbled away 
he lost touch of which way the beach was...

He dug deep down, he couldn't forget his gift, Mure, the gift, and 
his denki... had to charge up, just in case he was still in this 
world and the ancestors had kissed him with another chance.


A rolling, sky-over-water-over-sky feeling sent him tumbling in his 
mind as he fought to keep awake. He heard the whimpering of another 
flaaffy and felt Selden holding him and trying to push him up onto 
all fours. Standing as if to graze on the water Chirin concentrated 
on charging back up...

"Selden are you okay?" he managed to ask.

"I think so. That--dog...he jumped on me and bit me--but Chirin, 
you're bleeding in a lot of places..."

"Yes but I'll be okay." Blood had run off him and into the water, 
smeared down his face and flipper. Apart from his arm, the wounds 
were mostly superficial, but there were only so many superficial 
wounds one could take, before they added up. Still bent over, he 
peered round, looking for the demon. He didn't see him 
anywhere. "Selden did you see where the big one went?"

"No..."

Not seeing it was almost worse than seeing it. Chirin resumed 
charging up his exhausted system again, a process almost as painful 
now, as breathing and standing. Everything he did pulled against the 
tow of sleep. Yet he couldn't sleep, not until he knew the great 
hound of shadow was gone.

Would he ever know?

"Those who made my light...give me a far-reaching light to see. Make 
me a beacon over the water," he said, reciting what little he 
remembered of the old song his family had often spoken from the 
Pharos peak, and making up some too. Most of what he sang now was 
completely made up, or built on fragments of memory. And he must have 
missed his mark or the demon had left, for he did not rear up from 
invisibility. Had he returned to the island and the lake, or moved on 
to spread his blight elsewhere?


Crawling out of the water step by painful step, his thoughts turned 
back to the fire, which was gorging its way south towards them, and 
by the sound of it, outwards in all directions. No strong wind blew 
right now but the unnatural warm breeze stinking of smoke, coming 
from the north. Chirin needed healing berries, he needed rest. He 
needed to know the being of *kuros*--of dark--was not going to 
surface in this realm again. He knew he had not defeated it, only 
driven it off. It would be back, sometime when he far from water and 
from friends who could help defend him. But they couldn't stay here.

The fragments of what Spirit had told him floated back, ripening, 
seasoned by what Celesteon had said. This was that long long black 
tunnel of evil they had spoken of.

The fire. "I have to go see..." He coughed up residual water standing 
in his lungs, and struggled to stand. "If Celesteon's all right."

Weakness forced him to drop back to all fours. He would go nowhere 
until he was healed and rested. Maybe he would have forced himself to 
pick up and go if he had smelled Azalea on the wind, or heard her 
voice... or, maybe, those of his flock. But he didn't. He mustered 
his strength and flipped his hair back on his head so the strands 
weren't dribbling water in his eyes. With water still dripping from 
his chin and ears, he gave the beach a careful study.

Dog tracks marred the sand, mussed and muddied with the leapabout 
turns and jumps their makers had taken. Already the waterline was 
smoothing them out. The demon and his children had vanished, but 
their smell still stained the air.

"What are we going to do now?" said Selden. "What if they come back?"

"I wish i knew," said Chirin. "Phos's light preserve us. We just have 
to stick together. Together we're a match for them. But I fear 
they're waiting still. They took no prey. They're still hungry...for 
whatever they attacked us to get." Just meat? Or souls, and 
light? "And i need berries." He remembered where some were, back up 
towards where Celesteon and Spirit's tree were. In those woods he had 
used berries to paint himself, but he had also spied a few healing 
berries. Mother Megga, something had to come his way to ease the 
throbbing of his chewed-up arm, the bleeding gashes on his face and 
the sting of his burnt skin.

He sat down near his friends and collected his breath, concentrating 
on deep inhalations. He tried to meditate, sink below and expand 
himself beyond, the pain. It was that demon-touch that had bored into 
him, but he would not let these evil spirits torture him. The smoke-
tainted air filtered into him, but it was all he had. "Selden...I 
need healing berries. Mecha do you know if there's anything closer to 
here than those ones up by the great tree?"


Mecha landed with a sigh. So much for doing his best to defend his friends..he had been utterly uesless. All he had done was make it worse...and to top it off, he had forgotten the gift from the Unoun that would have been a great help to them...

"Chirin...? If I can help..." his eyes wandered downwards "I mean...I..." 


"Oh Mecha, you really are sent from Watakko...I don't know what we would have done without you helping us." Still sitting with his tail out behind him, in a position that allowed the soul greater movement within and without the body, he reached out and touched Mecha's wing with his unwounded flipper. "Can you get me berries to heal? And anyone else that might need them? Oh, Selden, that's a mean bite you have on your side. Can you?" he said, looking at Mecha again. 


"I can look...will you be alright?" Mecha asked, worried. "If those thing come back..." He shifted. Fire made him uneasy, and the fact he had been more a harm than a help... 

"Of course I can." Mecha smiled, a good amount of guilt running away. But...he was hardly sent from Watakko...

But it looked as if he'd be talking with Chirin about that after retrieving some berries. He threw Chirin a smile, then took off again. 

Selden had sat down next to Chirin and leaned against him, putting 
his flipper in his mouth and licking at it absently. Chirin looked at 
Selden and Selden looked at him and Chirin knew the little ram was in 
shock. It was the same dangerous state that was knocking at his own 
mind, a freeze of thoughts often induced by the spirits of enemies to 
render their prey helpless. All Chirin wanted to do was fall 
backwards onto the sand..but if he let his concentration go now the 
demons would fill his head, and numb him tharn.

Once he was healed he must do something to stop them returning. 
Houndsbane. Houndsbane had come to him in a thought right during the 
battle. He did not remember the spells that kept Burakuru at bay but 
he did know about houndsbane. He put his good arm around Selden, 
snuggled him, and combed his memory, straining to reach the ancestors 
for an answer. 

*How do we ward this dark dog off?*

Chirin thought he smelled the demons in the air again, but he didn't see them. He shifted himself closer to the water. "Someone has to warn Celesteon about the shadow-dogs. And we should all go together. Anyone who goes out alone from here might get attacked. We'll move right along in the water--the tree is right by the water so i think it'll work. I'm just scared to leave the water with those houndours so close."

Chirin was afraid to close his eyes again. Better to keep them open until Mecha got back. "I'm scared too." Selden hugged Chirin, who winced as the affection woke up several of his flesh wounds. Blood had begun to coagulate on the gashes and he ran his good hand gingerly over his face, feeling stickiness and hardening scabs. Too soon yet to move much. He was weak all over, and his body's dulling of the pain had intoxicated his mind. He was in a trance without closing his eyes. He sat there staring at the drops of blood he had leaked on the sand, feeling broken and ripped apart. The hounds had hurt and violated him. They were not gone. Inside his ears' memories they snarled and barked. And the determination glinted in their leader's eyes, where Chirin's tail light had twinkled. 

Kuroirihi was sitting behind a bush, licking his paw
clean, Erik was just lying down, he took a deep sigh
and looked away, his pride was hurt more than his
body

the dark Eon frowned he looked at Artemis "These
meals are tougher to get everyday, it seems the
flying pest is about to leave, if we can get those
sheeps out of the water we can have our way, but as
long as they're into it.... it's going to be
imposible, we also have to watch for the Nidorina
and the Ekans"

Erik sighed "so much for a leader..."

Kuroirihi rose his ear and glared at Erik
"Watch your mouth! treat me with the respect i
diserve!"


Erik looked at Kuroirihi "so much for respect... we
are on a mission you know? yes, we're hungry, but we
need to acomplish what master Keel had told to us, 
the Marowaks may be gaining in, why dont you snap
out of your pride and we all go after them?"


Kuroirihi looked at Erik for a Moment, the young
houndour merely looked away expecting the punishment,
but instead Kuroirihi noded "You're rigth"


Erik smiled "Let's go then, their scent is-"

Kuroirihi coughed "Still fresh, i know, now,
Artemis, you take the lead, Erik, you watch our back, 
"the sooner we get there the sooner we'll be at
control of this stuipd place"
the eclipseon began movign northwards, weakened by
hunger and still sligthly dazzed by the electricity,
he began their search for the three brothers.. yet
again...

The blood loss and weakness were wreaking havoc on him. Chirin 
slumped down, half in and half out of the water. As th stars crept 
overhim he kept his mind on Azalea. Thinking hard of her brought the 
electric zing in his blood. 

Azalea...Azalea...

Chirin struggled to keep aware but he was slipping into the other 
world... *Oh Mecha, where are you?*

After all he had fought through, after all he'd survived, how could 
it drag him down now? How could that demon cram his thorns into him, 
when all he had was himself?

He embraced himself and collapsed on the sand. And through the 
spinning world he felt Crazy Lights hug and nuzzle him. Crazy 
Lights...then Crazy Lights made way for Selden. 

"Chirin, wake up, what's wrong?" the little mokoko bleated, nudging 
at his woolly neck. 

"I'm okay," Chirin mumbled, but he wasn't sure if it reached his 
mouth.


"Won't do me too much good to look from up here..." Mecha said with a loud sigh as he swooped down. Upon landing, he looked around "Maybe now I'll be able to find some..."

Well, the good news was, he had landed by a nice bunch of berry bushes. But the bad news..

"...Which ones are healing berries...?" There were a bunch of different kinds...so...which ones were he supposed to bring back?

With a loud sigh, he did the one thing he could think of...yanked a branch off every bush near him. By the time that was done with, he could barely keep them all in his beak, and had a hard time seeing around the lush green leaves. "Alright...not a problem..."
Chirin felt himself being dragged by the wool. The part of him that had been underwater was suddenly whipped by cold night air. The odor of reptile skin oils filled his nose and from far away he heard a hissing voice. No...wait...he remember this voice from somewhere, it was familiar? And ekans--how could it be familiar? Something about Calima? 

Eyes shut tight, he curled and uncurled, then clenched back into a fetal position, too weak to fight it. He tried to nudge himself back towards the water. He could not leave the water. 


Flying off (or trying to, running into a few very small branches), he came to the place he had left Chirin and the others in the water. And of course, they were still there. Making a semi-sloppy landing for himself (well, a bit more sloppy than it had been in awhile), and a few leaves hanging from his feathers, he muttered around the branches "'uzn't 'ure 'hich 'as 'he 'ight 'nes..." 

It was pain beyond pain. Calima screamed right along with Snake who had also gotten hit in the blast. Once it was over, and the demon dogs had gone, Snake had slithered over to Chirin and brought him over to Calima. "She is hurt bad...If we do not do something soon, she will die," Snake whispered sadly, looking at Calima, who was looking up at the sky and not paying any attention to anyone (she couldn't here them anyway, Snake was whispering). Snake looked at Calima sadly, then at Chirin, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

Leaves rustled. The smell of foliage, and newly torn bark. Chirin strained to regain a conscious state. *Mecha...Mecha...* 

The dark lake was inside him now, the demon was trying to hold him under. Feeling himself falling, Chirin jerked to catch himself on his feet-- 

He opened his eyes to a double image of branches being laid beside him. All his memory flooded back. He had fought the demon again, and won. He had sent it scurrying out of the refuge it had carved within his body. "Mecha..." he said, managing to crack a small smile, "you brought them..." 

"I hope so." Mecha rubbed his wing mareepishly on the back of his head "I wasn't really sure which was it...urr..." He looked at the assortment of berries "I don't know one from the other really...heh..." He sweatdropped. 

Selden picked a berry off and held it to Chirin's mouth. "Is this the 
kind you need?"

It wasn't, but Chirin opened his mouth, grabbing the berry with his 
lips and tongue. He chewed slowly as Selden helped prop him up. 

"Darker colored berry...I remember..."

Selden scrambled through the branches. "This kind?"

He fed it to Chirin and Chirin chewed down. His eyes rolled back as a 
wave of healing swept over him, radiating down into his stomach and 
out from his spine. 

"Ohh...yes."

"Darker colored.." Mecha muttered to himself "I'll try to remember that next time." 

Selden fed him another berry, and another, staring into Chirin's 
loving eyes. Selden wanted to sit here forever, seeing Chirin's mouth 
close over berry, after berry, loving what Selden did. Selden was 
good. 

The little mokoko could see dear Chirin's wounds mending and fading 
already. With Chirin back up, he would keep the demons away. 
Everything would be okay.

"Mother...Megga. Ahhh that feels so good. The ancestors blessed my 
light-path, when you brought me these Mecha." Chirin reached up, 
already much stronger, and gave Mecha a hug. He rejoiced in the use 
of his refreshed muscles. "These are the berries that reach deepest 
into you. They have great powers. But...now I need to get back in the 
water. Selden, you too. I'll be there in a moment."

Mecha returned the hug briefly, relieved. "Thank goodness I bought the right ones." he said with a grin.


Opening his apricorn, which had somehow managed to stay around his 
neck. he opened it, took out the pebble, placed it on the sand and 
put his nose to it. "Thank you...lake spirit...for helping me to keep 
away Burakuru and her two houndour children. Please guard me and my 
friends as we go up to the great lake-tree."

He put the pebble back in its home, licked the apricorn, got up and 
grabbed more berries to eat as he went. Selden got up after him and 
Chirin saw how he stood there smiling. He snatched Selden up in a big 
twirling hug. The little flaaffy laughed. "Lights are in your eyes 
like they live in your tail," he said, letting Selden down and 
stroking his head. Selden beamed and his tail light blushed rich blue.

"You should eat some berries too Selden, grab some so we can eat them 
while we're walking in the water. The lake is on our side. It helped 
to fight the demons and keep them off of us. Water is always your 
friend against night-hounds." He wanted to eat each berry slowly, to 
maximize its effect. Chirin held a branch of them out to Calima, who 
had also received many wounds.

"Eat these, and come walk by the water." Chirin's hand traveled from 
Calima's head, down her back, careful not to rub her spines the wrong 
way. He picked a few berries and lay them in easy reach of her, then 
blinked his tail for her to come follow. "I hate to hurry you. And I 
know water hurts you, but it hurts the houndours more."

He waited knee-deep in the shallows that lapped with trepidation 
around him. 



~

Artemis thought quietly about what the mareep, and flaffy had called them.

~Demons, evil, shadow dogs....but they weren't. They were not demons, they 
had dark power, but nothing more or less...and ya it stood to a point in 
degree as evil. But what was evil in a mind? It is nothing, nor is 
light....or neutral. They are all figments, or someones own mind. Artemis 
saw themselves as natural hunters that gained their power more from the 
night and moon, yet that does not make them evil...it is in ones own mind 
that made a creature evil. Erik, Kuroirihi, and Artemis were not evil, it 
was not a choice of a path, there is no evil in the world. The actions done 
my many are considered by others as something different then what the actual 
creature believed. Artemis was not evil, her power was of dark range, but 
that does not make her evil in stats......or does it?~

Artemis finally had to bark, howling...hoping the prey would hear her. 
Artemis wanted to say something but they had to be able to hear.


~

Mecha moved closer to Chirin. He knew it would be better to tell him sooner than later...but still...

"Chirin?" he said, looking nervous "I just wanted to umm...well...just thought I should tell you something..." He looked for the right words "It's something that's been confusing me a little in some ways too...and well...you know alot about so many things...and.." 
"Why, of course you can," said Chirin, touching the bird's shiny-
feathered shoulder. The second thing Mecha said made him smile a 
little. "Well, I...I hope I know something about what you're 
wondering about. There's a lot of things that confuse me too."

"Thanks." Mecha grinned "Well...you see...I..."



Just then a howl bowled out from the bushes, far up the beach. Chirin 
shrank into the water. The howl had come from north, up ahead of 
them...Far up the beach, true, but was it safer to head south? But 
who, then, would warn Celesteon that the darkness had risen up out 
from the island, followed Chirin to the mainland and somehow set the 
forest ablaze, the bushes to shake in terror, and the stars to 
tremble? 

"Let's go. In the water....north...we have to push north...I need to 
warn Celesteon. It's going to be okay..." He fumbled for Selden's 
flipper and led him deeper into the water. "If we stay in the water 
we should be okay. Ah Denrai, send me another bolt of your ancient 
*denki*."


"R-right!" Mecha sweatdropped, but awkwardly trudged on. Pidgeottos weren't built for water travel...but he still wanted to talk to Chirin. Plus, being in the air would give them away easily...at least in the water, they wouldn't be spotted and chased as Chirin had before...when they had used the dark orb thingy. Still, he thanked Mother Megga that he wasn't ALL metal. 

"Oh!" Chirin smiled. "I meant us land-creatures. You could fly on ahead....if you know who Celesteon is...or give him the message, and tell him it's from me, about the demons and dark coming. Or you can walk alongside us, on land. I don't know much about pidgeottos but...whatever suits you best. As for us, we need to stay in the lake. That howl came from very close. I just don't want them to get to Celesteon or hurt him in any way...before we can get there to tell him." 

They had a Pidgeotto with them. Mecha's powers of speed would spread to them as well, wouldn't it? Chirin knew he was going along faster now than he had before. The fear of predators kept making him study the dark trees whence the howl had come. He kept looking, listening, sniffing. 

Mecha chuckled "Glad to hear you say that.." He took off out of the water, dripping and hovering low. It was better at least...much better. "We'll het to Celesteon first I think...we're cutting across the lake sorta, and they'd have to go around...or I hope."

By the faint voices heard, Artemis could tell they could hear her. And she yelled out as loud as she could. 

"A curious question for you little lights and bird. Why do you call us evil? For our nature as of dark power? Does that truely make us evil? We are not demons, we merely have to eat meat that you supply for us, you eat grass and shrubs, is that not living? So why do you call us demons?" The houndour seemed quite serious or from what you could tell. 

A spine of sparks bristled from his tail to his neck. Chirin stood 
his ground, but stepped a little deeper in the water. It was one of 
the houndours, calling out from the cover of the forest. 


"You rose from the island deeps like the darkness the ancestors speak 
of!" said Chirin. "Your dark *denki* swallowed my light on the lake! 
Your leader--he became shadow! The dead talk of a thing that will 
destroy everything if it isn't stopped!" He faltered. "Mother Megga 
pushes the cycles of your kind like she does ours. and I'm sorry that 
we have to be on different parts of it.


"But...I saw something tonight that stepped outside her rhythms of 
eating and being eaten. It was him." Chirin swallowed. "Your leader. 
He spiraled in me and latched on..." He gathered breath. He was 
hoarse from calling so loud. "He chased me with something in his eyes 
that hungered for my soul."


He stood up straighter. "Are you of the dark thing that breathes 
death and wants to stomp out the life of Mother Megga herself? Or are 
you only a hungry houndour?"

Either way, he would have to say no to being eaten.


He ate the last berry he held, then ate the stem the cluster had been on, and with that going down into his gullet he took off through the water, dropping down to swim. He went slowly, staying close to Selden who sloshed along on his left side. He listened for the houndour...preferring to escape her altogether than wait for her to reply. He did not need her to tell him what nature her leader was of. He had met it in a life-battle. He knew. 

Aremis lisened to the reply, but continued to walk on with the 'pack' 
Artemis yelled out again. Her voice getting hoarse as well.

"We rose from the depths by a portal, for the Marrowak Brothers lead us to 
the island. Why would we have means of passing by a large lake?"

The black houndour thought silently, did he know stories of the darkness? 
That Artemis's brother, Din, asked her to carry on? To be the houndour of 
darkness, death, and evil?

Chirin stopped and the water remained in motion around him. This 
houndour knew a lot. Selden waded ahead, but when he saw Chirin 
pausing he stood next to him. Chirin stood waist deep and Selden 
stood neck deep, a head's height separating them. He touched his nose 
to his apricorn and murmured a few words--"send me luck, send me 
words, send me signs"--and looked back out at the trees that had 
admitted the young dog's voice. The haze of smoke-smell choked out 
anything he might have smelled of her.

"A portal? From the depths? Do you live there? These marowaks...are 
they the ones who sailed out over the lake? Are they part of 
the...wrongness that is coming up from underground? I've heard that 
something is rising up, and a marowak has my dearest friend..."



"Little Flaffy, we should meet again, not for eating...I have no means at 
the moment, for those Marrowak Brothers are the ones to blame. We would have 
not ran into you if it weren't for them and they would just cooperate! But 
then destiny has it's own coarse, and the black ball that chased you through 
the water is our safest means to travel through the rechied water that 
protected you so. But for when we meet once more, tell me more about this 
"dinki" I have many questions that wander my possesed soul.......the 
darkness that lies within, has questions that possibly you can answer that 
no other can."

Artemis's voice ended in a more quiet and less hungerly tone. The houndour 
waited a reply, if there were to be one from the flaffy.


"Denki...the current of the soul." He held up his tail and let it 
buzz with a small spark whose line struck the water. "All beings have 
a denki, and in some beings, like my kind, it grows strong as 
lightning, the *denki* of the spirits who go to play in the clouds.

"You...houndour...you...fascinate me. You came attacking me, and then 
my friends too. But words are magic." He managed a slight smile, 
remaining in the water although he was tempted to come up the beach 
towards her. "Words can make two souls meet like touching noses. They 
can run deeper than a scent or a taste. They can sometimes even break 
the ways set down by Mother Megga, of those eating and those eaten. 
Creatures are like that--you never know, I guess.

"That black ball ate my light. My light--is me. Without the light, 
Mother Megga's plants would die. The Light is Phos, and he gave my 
ancestors a piece of his light...and his light runs and jumps over 
the grass and mountains with every denryuu who ever lived.

"You say you're possessed...But you know you are, you may be able to 
help yourself. Why are you possessed? Is it the darkness? Who is the 
spirit possessig you? What are its questions?"

He was stricken by hearing that her mind and body were not her 
own...maybe there was a way to help, but sadly he could not do more 
than talk right now. And learn. "I just want to know one thing over 
everything, do you know of Azalea?"

He touched his trembling heels together under the water and rubbed 
one foot against one ankle, almost falling into Selden. "I'm looking 
for her. I dream her and feel her and think her, like my soul blazing 
fire in my body and making my eyes sting. I want her back so badly."

A portal...

and the marowaks were brothers. But he had only seen one marowak with Azalea. Had that marowak been one of them? Where were they headed now, up north of the lake? What were they doing? Had THEY caused the fire?? 

Kuroirihi snarled and pounced at Artemis, his paw over
her neck digging his claws, Kuroirihi looked at
Artemis in the eyes directly "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU
THINKING!?!?!?!?"

Tiny ripples crimped the lake as Chirin stood there hearing the voice of the demon. The ripples radiated out from his shivering body. Selden jumped against him, plastering his face in Chirin's stomach. Chirin held him, stroking the soft wool with sweating palms. Nothing he could do but shine his little light...and wait. He stood poised to dive deeper into the water. 


With a swift movement Kuroirihi retreated and looked
at the direction of the sheeps

"YOU ALL WILL DIE, AND SO WILL DIE YOUR STUPID HOMES
AND SPIRITS AND THAT OHHH SO DEAR DENKI AND YOUR
AZALEA, YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR
TIME!!!!!!!"

Now Chirin thought he saw the demon himself under the pines. He grabbed Selden and started swimming. He had to warn Celesteon..."Mecha, Calima, Snake come on...oh Phos, oh Watakko..." It was all no good. He could not stop the tears from coming. The image of the shoreline ahead of them, the lake and forest to the sides, all ran like mud in his tearing eyes. Azalea's name and everything else that he knew the sound and feel of, sounded all wrong and distorted coming out the demon's throat. 

Mecha flew faster, wondering if the fire-dog's threats had any merit...but wasn't about to stay behind and find out!


Kuroirihi glared at Artemis "YOU WANT TO DIE DONT
YOU? WHY DONT YOU TELL THEM EVERYTHING? WHY DONT YOU
JUST JOIN THEM?! EHHHH!?!?!?"

Kuroirihi;s words sounded as the thunder itself, the
whole ground shaked as his anger rose
"I AM A DEMON, I AM THE DEMON OF THE VOLCANO, THE
DEMON OF LAKE EERIE, BORN OF HATE AND LOOKING FOR
REVENGE, HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH NONSENSE?!?!?"

Kuroirihi rose a paw and aimed a heavy slash at
Artemis's face


Artemis took the hit, and her face began to bleed from Kuroirihi's claws, 
and her voice aswell clashed throughout the forest.


"Kuroirihi! You are not evil, and you know it....for the one you love has 
that known. I merely told a simple thing, Kuroirihi...you are an eclipseion 
that ONCE was captive of the Rockets...but you are different, and you do not 
see it. I was asking questions that pondered my mind, I told nothing! You 
are the one telling things, not I nor Erik. YOU KUROIRIHI! And why do you 
want them to die so much? It was not them that harmed you so harshly. Do you 
think not that I have problems, they have problems, Erik has problem? We all 
have a problem in our life! And the little flaffy maybe the only one to 
answer them! For you HAVE no clue what is pondered in my head, the one that 
you have just slashed."

Artemis was in outrage, drops of her blood began to trickle down her leg and 
onto the ground.

"Kuroirihi! You are no demon, there is no such thing apon my mind! You are 
an eclipsion! With dark and fire forces like I and Erik. Nothing more 
nothing less to me! And why do you want everything to die so much? How does 
that help? If they were all to die, then no one would be able to help fix 
your past, yes past cannot be re-done, but there are ways of helping it. So 
what of who our master is! There is no ruler, land is nothing to rule, it is 
nature apon itself. No one, or thing can rule such a massive, and dangerous 
thing! NO ONE!"



Chirin swam with the strength the magic berries had restored in him. He had not known that he had faced the dark thing himself...he had to tell Celesteon, had to tell...He paddled faster. That houndour had told him things he was not supposed to know. The brother marowaks...the portal, the ball of dark movement...all these things he must tell Celesteon. And a hope flashed inside him, a hope that had rooted in the fire- shadow being's words: *Azalea...will die.* Will die, not had died already. She was still alive. "Come on!" He paddled harder, imagining himself a seel like Slink and gaining skill in the water from the connection. *Slink, even Slappy and Happy...I feel you making us all faster. I feel you. Ah, I feel you too Azalea, you nestle and bloom in me...We can do this.* 

Mecha flew faster to keep pace with Chirin. They were making good time at least..thank goodness. Three Marrowak brothers...portals...Mecha was confused...but knew this had to fit together somehow...


Chirin let the tears mix with the water that held him, he let out all 
that wanted release. He realized how something had been building in 
him ever since he had smelled the fire and swum from the demon-orb 
born of the island. He did not even know what a volcano was.

His weeping cascaded out of him, it slowed his swimming but rained 
cool relief on his soul. He swam shaking strokes and breathed 
shuddery breaths and his tears rolling out were a piece of the sea.


~

Kuroirihi resisted the urge to kill Artemis in this same moment as he 
had done with the houndoom in the tunnel back then, Kuroirihi shook 
his head
"I dont care what the heck do you belive in, For now you are under 
my command, and i need you" Kuroirihi licked his paw

"Its not your problem what i am, you can tell them wat YOU are, but 
you dont have to put me into your rambilings, now lets get on with 
our job, Artemis, can't your understand?"
Kuroirihi glared at Artemis, and softened his look

"truth is... You're too useful as to kill you off rigth now"

Kuroirihi turned around, TOO calm for the moment

"Now, would you be so glad to guide us? or should i put an end to 
your questions in this precise moment? Erik and I can still make it 
without you"

Artemis took the offer to guide, but thought silently...hoping some how the little flaffy knew that this houndour would return for unanswered questions. Artemis walked on, sniffing the ground quietly, everything was silent for the moment anyways. Soon Artemis finally asked a question to Kuroirihi, Artemis's voice almost silent, not fearful, for no emotion was in her beautiful voice. 

"M'lord, I was telling them what I was, and why I hoped that one day the flaffy and I would meet again, yet you attacked me for saying I told them too much, but then you tell me you do not care that I tell them what I am. This makes no sense to thy, Kuroirihi." 

Artemis continued to walk on, not looking at Kuroirihi for he told her to walk on and she did, just doing her job. 

~


"Oh...." Selden barely managed to whimper through his windbeaten lungs. He clung to Chirin as they swam now, having exhausted himself. Chirin saw now that Selden had probably been older than he looked, all along. Even as a mokoko he was small and weak physically. Spirits knew, he had had the strength and courage to follow Chirin through things Chirin himself had almost backed out of. And what strength he had had saved Chirin's life more than once. But Selden followed blindly. What if, as Chirin was growing more sure of, there was worse to come? He might not always be able to protect him. Selden needed to stand on his own. 

"We're almost there..."