A Fox in the Works Singularity Collapse By Fox Cutter Chapter Thirteen 01/30/2000: Ravindar and Samantha had made camp for the night, joining with other travelers at a communal campsite, one of many that dotted the trail. They sat away from the others, but not so far away that they couldn't hear what the others were talking about. Both of them stayed silent listening intently for any further news about the events unfolding in the City of the Crown. Each day closer to the City brought a new rush of news, each piece more disturbing than the last. First came Fox's reported death, something that neither of the two would believed, then news that the killer had escaped into the City, a killer that bore a striking resemblance to Fox's lioness self. Then came word of the crack down on the Church, and its expulsion from the Palace, and then from the City itself. They heard of the King's decree about the Highest's attempted theft of the Relics being the driving force behind his actions. So far that night they had learned of two new pieces of information. One was a call to arms of every able bodied man to fight in the coming war that the death of Princess Astadia had brought about. The second was that Fox's alleged killer had been captured, and executed. "It may not have been her," Samantha said, breaking the silence that was hanging between the two of them. Ravindar shrugged his shoulders. "Then who would it be? How many other five foot tall felines do you think are running free on this world?" he responded in Prid Standard, a dark look on his face as he stared intently at his hands. She let out a sigh. "It's all secondhand information. You should know better than to trust that. Just because it sounds like Fox doesn't mean it was her." "No... but if it wasn't Fox, then it was Fox's killer. I honestly feel that he's dead, and that I failed to protect him like I should have," the disguised tiger said. "Don't be like that, Ravindar," Samantha said, placing her hand on his back, not noticing when one of the people at the fire turned his head and looked back at them. "Let's not assume anything until we get back to the City. If Fox is dead, we'll make sure to take care of his killers," she told him. He nodded his head, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked back at her. "Oriana would want to be involved in that," he told her, "and we could use the reinforcements." She nodded her head, then looked up when someone blocked the light from the fire, the bright light silhouetting him and covering him in shadows. "Excuse me," he said in the local language. "What do you want?" Ravindar snapped. The man shifted slightly and looked them over. "Did I hear you right, that your name is Ravindar?" he asked. "It is," the bodyguard said, giving the man a closer look, his hand sliding towards the butt of his gun. The stranger turned his attention back to her. "And please tell me that you are Samantha?" She nodded her head becoming curious about this strange man. "I am. Why are you asking?" she asked. "Oh, thank the Lord!" he said as he pushed his hands through his short cut hair. "I've been looking for you for the last three days, checking every camp along the trail. I was worried that I would have to go over the pass before I found you. I'm glad to see that you are together; Fox had hoped that you would be," he said. Ravindar was on his feet his hand grabbing the stranger's shoulder and squeezing firmly, but not enough to cause him pain. "How do you know Fox?" he asked with a low growl. "I was trying to help her when she was captured," the man replied a look of panic crossing his face. "Once she was sent to the Holy Land, I knew I had to try and find you." Samantha stood up and looked closer at the man. He was young, probably in his mid-twenties, with fairly well keep brown hair. His face was already starting to show the lines of age and his body was well built; she decided that he was probably a farmer. "Who are you?" she asked him. "My name is Aster," he said looking between the pair of them. She nodded and placed her hand on both his and Ravindar's shoulders. "We need to know everything that you know, so we are going to sit down and you are going to spill it all, got it?" she said with a smile. He nodded, "I got it," he said. "Good," she replied as she walked further away from the fire, near where their horses were tied. The two men followed her and settled down on the ground where she sat. "Tell us everything that happened," Ravindar said. The young man sighed, "Everything?" he asked. "Yes," the tiger replied. Aster let out a second sigh and folded his hands in his lap. With a deep breath he started to tell his story of how he discovered Fox in his wagon, and how she came to be there. He also spoke of her in ways that made clear he was attracted to her, and how he nursed her back to health. Ravindar seemed pleased to hear that Fox herself had been the one accused of killing Fox, but that was quickly followed by the description of how she had been captured on their way past the City "And they killed her," Samantha said with a sigh. Aster shook his head, "They sent her to the Holy Land... she may not be dead yet," he said. She leaned in, looking closer at the man. "What do you mean 'she may not be dead yet'?" "The Holy Land is a place, but no one can survive there. It kills you slowly, days at a time. It's how the Church kills those who defy them," he said rocking gently. Ravindar rubbed his muzzle though the disguise he wore. "So it's possible that she's still alive. That means our first priority is to find a way to save her." "We also need to find Rhea," Samantha commented. "No one seems to have seen anything of her," she said. "Fox mentioned her. She said that the High Mage had taken her," Aster said with a short frown. "She talked about getting help to rescue her." Ravindar shook his head, "How did things ever get like this? Alexander was going to protect Fox." "She believed that the King was responsible for what happened, and that he was trying to take over the Church," the younger man said as he twisted his hands. "She told me that the King himself gave her to his guards as a plaything." Samantha blanched slightly. "He gave Fox to the guards? Christ, I'm going to kill that son of a bitch." Aster frowned deeply as he watched her reaction, "That's how Fox got away, she told me she killed someone to escape." The tiger lifted his head, a small smile playing over his face, "Fox actually killed someone? I'm impressed." "She must have really been in a bad situation if she felt that was her only way out," Samantha added. Ravindar nodded and leaned back slightly, looking at the fading fire. "The question is can we save, Fox?" he asked, then turned his attention back to Aster, "How do you get to this Holy Land?" He shook his head, "I do not know. There's a gateway in The Dominion Grove, but I don't know how it can be opened." "Magic?" Samantha ventured. He nodded. She let out a long breath and then smiled, "I can handle magic, but it would take a lot of work. It will take a few days, so we'll need a place to say," she said, half lying to them. She was never very good at portal or teleportation spells, and she wasn't very confident that she could open the gateway. "My farm is only an hour's ride from the Grove," Aster said. Ravindar leaned over to Samantha, and whispered to her in Prid Standard, "Do you really think you can open this gateway?" A frown played over her face as she realized just how easy Ravindar could read her. "I have no idea, but if you have a better one I would love to hear it," she whispered in return. "And keep on eye on Aster, I'm not sure if I trust him," he added. Samantha nodded and leaned back from her friend. She was inclined to trust the young man, but only to a point... a point that stayed well with in range of her gun. "You have your own horse?" the bodyguard asked. "Of course," Aster replied, looking a little surprised by the question. The hidden tiger nodded and leaned back, "We ride at dawn," he said as he looked up at the stars above. * * * 02/01/2000: Sally had given up by the third day, but I had stayed stupidly optimistic. By the end of the first week without food I was starting to suspect that she had made the right decision. We had both tried to eat what food the island provided, and true to her original words we had both become ill. Myself more so than she had. Since then I had tried a few of the other edible items, but all to the same end. Nothing we could eat would stay down. I had tried to build some shelter on the first day, and clearly I wasn't the only one who had attempted it in the past. Sally wouldn't help. In fact she had pretty much spent her time sitting on the beach looking at the horizon. I had given up by that night. It wasn't so cold that we needed anything to cover ourselves with, and the regular rains were warm enough to be no more than an annoyance. Sally had pointed out that there was one food source on the island, each other. That would only last a few days, and frankly it wasn't worth it. On the second day I had started to walk along the beach, trying to see if maybe we weren't really on an island. By the time night fell I had made it back to camp, tired and hungry, with nothing to show for my effort. There was only one chance to make an escape, but it was a long shot, and it would leave Sally to die. I wasn't going to do that to her. I couldn't do that to her. She was sick as well, having developed a fever on the fourth day. I had tried to help her, but she didn't want it. She was simply waiting to die so she could join her husband, who had apparently been executed the same day I had escaped. I'm loath to admit it, but part of me was hoping for her death. When that came to pass I would feel less guilt in leaving, assuming I could catch the one in a trillion chance. The odds were worse than usual. All things being equal, I was probably going to die on that island, and I was preparing myself for it. I still had the nail I had pulled from the floor of the wagon, and I had found a large slab of stone near the center of the island. Using the nail I had spent the last few days writing a letter to Oriana, in the hopes that she would find it when she came looking for my body. I spent most of my days on it, working my fingers until they bled to carve the words into the stone, and hoping that my wife would forgive me for leaving her. It was nearing the warmest part of the day, and the heat was starting to overwhelm me. I was lying on the stone, in the shade of the trees and panting away the excess warmth. I had one arm over my face to cover my eyes as I tried to think of what I would write next when a sadly familiar voice declared: "You are an incredibly stubborn man, do you know that?" I lifted my arm and cracked my eye open, seeing the image of a black pantheress sitting on the stone next to me, looking down at my nude form with a frown on her muzzle. "You may not have noticed, Rebecca, but I'm currently not a man," I said through dry lips. "I wish you wouldn't call me that," she said as she looked me over, tisking softly. My former friend was dressed in light clothing that hung loosely over her black fur. "Why not?" I asked as I pulled myself up. "Now, what the hell are you doing here?" She sighed and flicked her ears back. "I'm here to offer you my help." I frowned, remembering the deal that she, and the Neverending, had offered me months ago. A deal where it would help me, but I would end up being a servant to it, the same way that Rebecca was. "You mean the Neverending's help," I said with a glare, "and my answer is still the same. No!" "As I said, stubborn," she repeated with a laugh. "This is exactly the time you should be at least considering the offer. There's no way you're going to get off this island without help." "Not your help," I told her as I hunched over myself. Rebecca sighed and ran her fingers over the stone, letting the tips trail over the letters I had carved into it. "You would rather die? Die and leave Oriana and your children alone? You don't have to do that, we can make a fold for you, it would be temporary, but you can use it to get back to Prid." I snorted and shook my head, my ears lowering down against my hair, "I'm not the only one on this island, and I'm not going to leave without her." "Then how do you plan to leave?" she asked me. I let out a long sigh. "I'll try to catch a ripple after she's dead, that will at least give me a chance to get back home." Her eyes went wide as her ears twisted in surprise. "That has to be the most ridiculous plan I have ever heard! All that just so you don't have to ask me for help." "Ask the Neverending for help, and the price is to high," I counter. Rebecca shook her head, her tail twisting behind herself, "The cost of not asking will be your life, and probably Oriana's as well. I don't think she can live without you," she told me. I shook my head. "I'm not going to leave without Sally. I can't let her die here, not when I can get away." "Just the same as always," she said with a smile, then she cocked her head to the side, her ears flicking as if she was hearing something. "If we can save both you and Sally, would you take it?" she asked. "She needs medical attention," I said. The pantheress sighed and rubbed her muzzle, "We can only do so much, but the Neverending can arrange to get you back to where you were sent from. That's about all we can do, O.K.?" I turned my head away, a million things rushing through my head. It was a way out, but the cost of my life would be my life, I would be a servant to the damn Neverending, whatever it was, but I would still be alive, and Oriana would not be alone. "Deal," I said, slumping forward. Rebecca nodded and stood up, "Go back to the beach. The gateway will be open in a day or two, just stay alive till then. We'll try to help Sally in any way we can." I sighed softly. Another day would be hard. "Do you think you could get us some food," I said, but she was already gone. And I had sold my soul. * * * A pressure wave disturbed Rhea, the moving air brushing over her whiskers and stirring her from her light slumber. She lifted one eyelid and cocked her head as she listened for the sound of the closing door, but it did not come. She let her eyes focus on the shadow in the doorway as it mingled with the darkness of the room. It wasn't Rodrick, she could tell that much from the shape, which was far slimmer than he was, and had the distinct outline of a tail. For just a moment she felt the rising hope that it could have been Samantha, but that hope was dashed as the shadow moved across the room, the darkness of it not fading as it crossed the floor. It was only as it passed in front of the window that the lioness realized that not only was the intruder was female, she had pitch-black fur. Rhea lifted herself to her feet and padded gently inside her cage, watching intently as the figure moved through the darkness to the Mage's desk. Holding a small light in her paw she started rifling through the papers that rested on it, peering closely at the words on the pages. The lioness watched her in silence, her ears turned back as she studied the stranger, the scent of her familiar in some strange way. The fact that she wasn't human didn't mean much, not on that world, but there was something about her that rang bells in the back of Rhea's head. It took her far too long to realize what was wrong, and it only came to her as she watched the black fur tail sweep behind the rolled up cuffs of a worn pair of jeans. Every piece of clothing the stranger had on was an anachronism, just as the person wearing them was. In Rhea's mind, there was only one person that it could be, so pressing her head against the bars she look intently at the women, and focusing her telepathic voice as forcefully as she could said <> she demanded. The pantheress jumped in the air, letting out a loud yelp as if she had been hit. She looked stunned as she glanced around the room. "Who's there?" she asked, her hands fluttering near her hips as her light winked out. <> Rhea asked as she turned her head to the side. "Shit," she said, and turned on her heel, running for the door. Rhea ran after her the best she could while still trapped in the cage. <> she called out as the pantheress neared the door, showing no signs of stopping. <> she called again, this time bringing the feline up short. "What?" she asked, turning to look back into the room, her hands fumbling at her belt before pulling out her light. Snapping it on she focused it at the caged lioness. <> Rhea said as she turned away from the light, <> Rebecca looked surprised, lowering the light slightly as she looked at the lioness. "I don't understand," she said. <> she asked. The pantheress moved closer to the cage, looking down at the lioness with a sense of wonder as she reached out with her free paw. "How... I don't believe it... but I can see some of Fox inside of you," she said. Rhea chuckled and shook her head, her tail flicking against the ground in amusement. <> She nodded as she leaned down next to the cage. "She asked me to help her, and I'm doing what I can." <> Rhea asked as she looked at the woman. Rebecca sighed and shook her head, "It doesn't work that way, the Neverending can get away with taking me around the universe because it remade me as a part of itself. It can't do that to Fox, not without changing him like I was changed, and he would lose too much of himself to do that." <> "We think that the Mage is close to opening the portal. My job is to... adjust his notes a little bit so he will be able to open the portal tomorrow," she said as she rose back up to her feet, her tail flicking behind her ankles. Rhea nodded and walked at her side across the room, the bars of the cage separating them. <> she asked. The pantheress shook her head, "It's not measured in time, Rhea. I gave up my life so I could live. It's not what I had wanted, but I've become comfortable with it." <> the lioness commented. "Fox isn't getting the same deal I did," she replied as she returned to the desk and started turning through the pages, using her light to illuminate them. Rhea looked at her through the bars of the cage, <> "The one where he gets to go home when he's done," she commented with a frown Rhea let out a sigh and flicked her ears back. <> Rebecca paused for a moment, then shook her head. "Because I would be dead otherwise, no matter what happened. My body was dying with me in it," she replied, then paused for a moment. "That's the past now, this is the present," she said as she returned to the papers. The lioness cocked her head to the side, her ears flicking back as she watched the feline as she worked. <> she told her. "I'm not counting on it," she replied as she picked up the quill pen from the top of the desk and started to write on the page. "I hope this works. Fox has a couple more weeks but the woman with her might not last more than a few more days." <> she asked. She returned the papers to their previous arrangement and let out a sigh. "I don't know, Rhea, but I will do whatever I can however I can. I will do anything I can to save Fox; I owe him that much." Rhea nodded. Rebecca's shoulders slumped forward as she turned around to look at the lioness. "I suppose I owe you something as well. I'll open the cage," she said as she walked to the bars, her paws reaching for the lock. <> Rhea said, noticing a glimmer around the pantheress' fingers as she worked on the lock. "So you would like me to stop?" she asked. Rhea laughed and shook her large head, <> she said as she lifted one of her large forepaws and pressed it against the bars of her cage. The pantheress paused in her work, then let out her own laugh as she let go of the lock. "I guess that would work to keep you in, wouldn't it?" she said a she reached out to place her hand on the paw. Then without a sound, she was gone. Rhea blinked for a second, then lowered her paw to the ground. Other than her scent hanging in the air, there was no sign that Rebecca had ever been there. Shaking her head she settled down on the floor of the cage, lowering her head to rest on her paws. She lifted it again as she took in a deep breath through her nose, finally placing the scent. Rebecca had the exact same scent as the Unicorn. To Be Continued... ----- This story is copyright 2005 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy reprints limited to one per person, all other rights reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.