Kagetsu's Return

"Well, we've packed everything up," a now twenty year older Kagetsu stated, "The furniture is sold, since I did leave all of mine at my old house. I guess it's time to go." He looked back to the mountain cottage where he had spent the last twenty years of his life, following his self-imposed exile. The man was wearing clothing similar to his old garments, black shirt with brown on the bottom, black pants, and black shoes. His brown/black hair still flopped over the right side of his face, nearly over his right brown eye.

Next to him stood a woman of about forty, Kagetsu's age. She had short black hair and amber eyes. Her clothing consisted of a black shirt with an exposed bellybutton and sleeves that only covered the top of her arms, tied around the rest so they stayed. On her feet was a pair of black boots.

A fifteen year old girl stood a few feet away, looking sad. Like her mother, she had black hair and amber eyes. But the youth wore her hair long and in a ponytail. She had on a magenta dress, and a pair of black boots. It hurt her more than her parents to leave the cottage where she'd lived her whole life. But the ground was getting harder and harder every year, and it was difficult to feed a family of three. So they had decided to move to the valley where Kagetsu grew up, into the same house in fact. The man had always known he'd come home someday, so he'd never sold it. However, the girl wasn't excited to see it at all.

Her name was Amber, and she was a Neutralizer in training. It was said, that when she was born, her father took one look at her eyes, and decided on that name. Amber was a vibrant young woman, full of energy. She enjoyed nothing more than helping her friends out when they needed it. It wasn't as if it would be hard for her to make new ones with a personality like that, it was that she'd miss her old ones a lot.

"You shouldn't worry. You can always write to them, and they can write back," her mother, Sophie, had told her when the move was announced. That hadn't comforted the girl a bit, she was a sensitive child. In fact, she'd run off and hid out with her childhood friend Robyn for the next few hours. When her father found her, he was really worried, but understanding. It had hurt him to move too, but he knew he had to.

Alan, the panther that served as Sophie's Partner, informed them, "We should probably get going soon; I feel a storm is approaching the area we are heading to. Last thing we need is to be caught up in it. Besides, I think it would be best if we get Amber used to her new surroundings a little more before you run into someone you know." Alan was the voice of reason in any situation, much like Japolo only not critical of Sophie's performance. He let her do as she pleased, she was the Magic User after all, only advised on the tactical aspect of battle. And he never complained either. So his advice was usually sought in a crisis.

. . .

The four then set out for the valley. Since Alan was so large, Amber could still ride on his back to keep up with her parents. The journey took a full six hours to complete. By the time they had arrived in the valley, it was mid-afternoon. By the snowstorm that Alan predicted was ripping through the area, winds blew flakes at them with the force of a slap on the face, and it was dark. Sophie was using her powers to create light, she had a knack for that talent, and Alan had brought up a shield to deal with the force of the blows.

Kagetsu looked to his frightened daughter. "Amber, keep a firm hold on Alan with your legs. I don't want you to get lost in this weather." He looked at her the way he used to look at Sara when she was ill or in pain. The man couldn't do anything when his sister needed him, could now only resort to speaking with her through a painting with the guards watching his every move. He wouldn't fail his only child as well.

But suddenly, the light spell that Sophie had cast went out. She tried to cast another, but found that something was interfering with her powers. Unbeknownst to Alan or Amber, Sophie had stopped in her tracks until she could find out what was wrong, and Kagetsu had put his arm around her to brace her. So as he continued walking towards the direction he was sure the house was in, he took the girl away from her parents. It wasn't until Amber asked her mother how much longer they had to go that she realized it.

"What are we going to do?" inquired the frantic teenager, "Alan, we have no way of knowing which way to go in this dark, we're lost from mom and dad, and the snow is getting heavier. I wanna go back to the mountains. What else can go wrong today?" As if on cue, a low growl was heard from the bushes. Out came a Ryukami, a wolf with the wings of a dragon. Since the Mihan Demons had never come into the mountains by where Kagetsu lived, due to the proximity to the Throne of Yord, she'd never seen one before.

"This creature, I can feel it's evil intentions. A mindless beast of destruction. Blast it, without my Princess I can't unleash my full powers. In such a situation, flight might be better than fight," Alan stated. He prepared to run, to get the girl to safety. But the Ryukami attacked first, knocking them to the ground. Amber fell of Alan's back, and hit her head. She wasn't out cold, but she was feeling a little bit dazed.

The beast prepared to move in for the kill. Amber wished she had the power to destroy it, but she wasn't fully trained yet as a Neutralizer. Besides, the only power she could steal was Alan's and Amber was very sensitive towards her mother's Partner. He'd been the first and only one Sophie had ever called upon. But somehow, Alan still had memories of his old life, when that shouldn't happen. He had been the leader of a small community of beastmen in his own world. Alan had a young daughter, and his wife was pregnant with another. Sadly, that never happened, for humans who feared his kind came to slaughter them. Alan watched his wife be killed by a pike in her chest, and his daughter raped and slain with a knife. Finally, he was cut down. As Alan lay dying, a voice called to him. Then, he woke up as a real panther instead of a beastman with a panther's shape. It was in that moment that he became Sophie's Partner.

Suddenly, Amber heard a woman's voice call out, "I Teefa gather those entities subject to me from the Shadow Realm. Lend me your power, and let me have victory!" A large Shadowy Creature, in the form of a tiger came rushing at the Mihan Demon. The beast let out a cry, and was instantly destroyed by it.

A girl of fifteen came running up to her. Her hair and eyes were both brown. She had on a long sleeved red shirt and yellow pants held by a leather belt. A pair of long leather boots was on her feet, and leather gloves adorned her hands and arms. Around her shoulders lay a white cape, and a black headband was on her forehead. Her concerned look was the last thing Amber saw before she passed out in the snow.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

I'm sure everyone knows who the girl is, after all this is a darn sequel. Well, I'll tell you more about the character names in the next chapter when everyone is introduced. But Teefa is from my first RPG obsession; hence my e-mail address and penname.