Golden Mist

Disclaimer – Don't own it, never will. OCs, however, are mine.

A/N: Well, I never actually thought there'd be a sequel to GRAY SILENCE, but here it is. –shrugs-

Yes, our main character is no longer Cat, but she does still play a major role, which you will see upon reading this prologue.

So, here I present to you Golden Mist, the sequel to Gray Silence. While you don't need to read GS to understand GM, it's highly recommended.

/end obnoxiously long author note

DGM/GS SPOILERS ABOUND

Hurricane

30 Seconds to Mars

…X…

"Sol, stay hidden here, and don't move, do you understand?" A panicked mother asked her son who was staring up at her with wide eyes. They were an unusual shade of golden hazel, and were lit up with fear. Hearing the cries of people outside the small house, the roar of monsters, and the barks of wild canines, the mother slammed the doors of the armoire shut. Suddenly the mother realized that in her haste she had forgotten the tiny child downstairs. Cursing under her breath, the brown-haired woman rushed from the room and down the stairs, leaving the elder child alone.

Yet when left to their own devices, even in a serious, life-threatening situation, children tend to get into more trouble.

Slipping out of the safety of the large oak armoire in his parent's room, the boy padded across the room softly and opened the door with a push. Glancing down the stairs, he heard his little brother's frantic crying and his mother trying to shush him. Without a total grasp of the situation, the eight-year-old went downstairs and through the hallway into the main room, only to stop dead in his tracks as the door came crashing down, and a fearsome-looking wolf barged in. It snarled at the boy's mother, who screamed and backed right into the corner of the room, still holding her baby.

No longer able to see his mother, the boy grasped the corner of the wall and peered out, watching as a second, much smaller wolf joined the gray one. Just barely coming up to the gray wolf's stomach, this new wolf seemed to be pitch-black with piercing azure eyes. Captivated and frightened by this mystic creature, the boy flinched as a voice rang out, gruff and sounding like the crunch of gravel.

"See that woman and her child? I want you to kill them. Strike those filthy humans dead, and teach them a lesson they won't soon forget, even in the afterlife!" The child realized it was the taller wolf that spoke, and something didn't strike the boy as right.

Animals don't talk…

"But Arashi…" The black pup sounded very frightened herself, and very tentative, with her eyes focused on the mother who was crying and begging to be saved.

"What? Do you fear the blood on your maw?" The elder snapped roughly, pinning the tiny black wolf underneath his large paws. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned down close to her left ear and spoke in low, menacing tones. The boy had no idea what was being said, but the blue eyes of the pup widened before they seemed to go back to normal size.

Allowing her up, Arashi stepped back with a satisfied grunt as she moved towards the cowering mother who still cradled her youngest child. The boy that was still hiding continued to watch the scene with his heart beating in his throat. Not even realizing tears were pouring down his face, the child watched as the black pup grabbed his mother by the foot and actually managed to drag her more out into the open. The woman offered a blood-curdling scream and the wolf pounced on her, silencing the human within seconds. The baby's cries echoed through the room, but as one paw lifted into the air and came swinging down, it too, was quiet a moment later.

"Your first kill," the gray wolf practically purred like a cat as the black pup took a few steps backwards. "Now, are there any others in here we need to purge from this world?"

The crying boy bit his lip and backed away a bit as those piercing blue eyes landed on him. Their eyes met for a moment before the wolf's eyes flashed away. "No, Arashi." The answer was simple and with a shake of her right paw, scarlet drops of blood littered the wooden floor and pieces of the broken door. Setting the foot down, the wolf pup grimaced though at the bloody paw mark that was left behind. All it did was remind her of the heinous deed she had just committed.

"Good," he growled, using his tail to guide her out of the house. "Now that we're done here, let's go back and celebrate our win. Wolves will always be the ultimate victors, humans be damned." The black pup made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat and they disappeared from sight. Finally the only noises heard throughout the town were the occasional roar of a monster and the crackle of fire as the town slowly burned to the ground.

In the house, the boy sat there sobbing. "Mother, father, Lian…" He continued to chant those three names until the snap of a piece of wood broke his reserve. Thinking that one of those evil creatures had come to kill him, the child whimpered, arms over his head in fear.

"Oh come on, get up you stupid boy." This voice was totally new, and when the child looked up he saw a brown-haired man with sharp steel-gray eyes, a beard, and a tan cloak around his frame. The man grabbed him by the wrist, and dragged the eight-year-old onto his feet, before sweeping him out of the house. To hide the bloody remains of the child's mother and brother, the man wrapped his cloak around the child. Not only did it save him from seeing the disgusting image, it also helped keep some of the smoke out of his nostrils from the fire that swept across the town. It had yet to touch this house, but it wouldn't be long before this place too was nothing but embers.

"But-" the boy began before earning a hard look from the tall man.

"If you want to stay here and either burn to death or be eaten by some other creature, than be my guest. I decided to be a kind, giving soul, and save your wretched ass, but if you have other plans, then…" The man stopped short on the hill overlooking the entire small village. Turning the boy around with one hand and gesturing with his opened palm to the burning embers, the man raised one eyebrow questioningly. The boy looked on in horror as even his house caught on fire, only moments after they have left it. Now, he knew, he had nothing to return to. Unless…

"What about my father?" The boy asked petulantly, wide eyes staring up at the stranger.

"Most likely killed by an Akuma." He said in short, wanting to get moving before any more of the said creatures appeared. "Your mother was obviously killed by a wolf, am I right?" The boy instantly looked away, confirming the man's suspicions that had seen the death of his mother and brother. Sighing, he placed one hand on the boy's shoulder and led him away from the scene of death and destruction.

"What are Akuma?" The small child then asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"You will learn about the enemies you must face eventually, and I will teach you how to fight. It will all be up to you though, how you choose to use the power you've been given by the likes of God." Keeping his eyes on the path ahead while occasionally scanning the area for any threats, the man's answer was short, sweet, and to the point. It almost seemed to be a foreshadowing of what was to come in the boy's life, and while the man hated what would become of the child, he knew there was nothing he could do.

This boy had been chosen by another force, and there was no possible way to change it now, unless he was killed. To the man, that wasn't an option, although later the boy might practically beg for it; the life he would have would be nothing short of Hell, and no person should have to go through it. But again, it was up to the brown-haired child to choose the path he wished to take, and the man could only hope it was the one of good, to help save the innocent involved with this secret war. Wrapping one hand around the silver ring in his pocket, the man knew that his new pupil would have to learn quickly, or die young.

That was just the way this war worked.

The boy stared down at his feet, one image still fresh in his mind; a black wolf with hollow blue eyes, and an insatiable thirst for human blood.

Or at least, that's how he chose to remember the damnable creature. And that's how it would remain for many more years to come, until they met again, and the lives of those around them changed. Every creature that had ties with others was slowly connected to every other person in the world, through a string of unbreakable threads. It was this never-ending circuit that would bring these two souls together again, and force them to work side-by-side to destroy the great evil that existed within their world.

"There are no coincidences in this world; only the inevitable."

…X…

No matter how many deaths that I die, I will never forgive,

No matter how many lies that I live, I would never regret,

There is a fire inside of this heart, a riot about to explode into flames,

Where is your God?

…X…

And so there you have prologue! Why do I always ramble at the end?

And yes, those are lyrics from the song at the end; a new addition to my already fucked up format.

Oh pfft, whatever. Anyways, for those of you who are also CLAMP/xxxHolic/Tsubasa Chronicle fans, you should recognize that end quote.

-coughs- Anyways, same deal as GS; an update every Saturday. Aren't I a kind person? –shot-

Well, enjoy, and I look forward to seeing old GS fans, along with new fans!

Please go to my profile to read GRAY SILENCE, if you haven't already, and you're totally confused. :3

NOW GO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER!

-PA