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Along Came A Wolf...

"When history witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself... First, as a dark demon.

As a demon, it uses its power to rain death upon the land, and then it dies.

However, after a period of slumber, Razgriz returns. This time... As a great hero."

ALBERT GENETTE - Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War

0: Legacy of the White Demon-

"... And then the great white demon ripped its way out of the ground for all the world to see. All across the lands, all the people could do was watch as the demon grew to the heavens. With a roar, the sky froze and fell across the lands. With a growl, color drained from the lands. With a howl, the rivers, streams, and oceans stilled, and terror filled the hearts of the people.

"Many warriors came from many lands in attempt to slay the White Demon. However, their great weapons would not harm the mighty demon. But many still tried, but many found the same fate against the demon..."

"You mean that no one could defeat the demon?" A young voice interrupted.

The Storyteller stopped and looked at the young pup that was sitting across the fire from him. There was always one who would interrupt his stories. At first it irritated him to no end, but now age and wisdom has settled in and he could only let out a sly chuckle and shake his head with a smile.

"No." The storyteller responded. "Their great weapons from their many lands could not touch the White Demon."

"What were the weapons that the soldiers used?" Another pup asked.

"Things that are no longer around here." The storyteller said with a thought. "Mighty things like mechanical monsters called tanks or metal birds that flew through the sky called jets. Sometimes there were great tubes that spit fire called cannons or giant insects called missiles that seeked out their prey."

"What happened to the people?" A girl asked, apparently wanting to get back to the story.

"I'm getting there my dear. Provided there's no more interruptions." The storyteller made a short laugh before he continued. "With the warriors failing to stop the White Demon, the people turned to their leaders for help only to find that those who they turned to had abandoned them. Many prayed for a miracle, Looking to the heavens for salvation. Others took up the fallen arms in the fruitless endeavor of trying to stop the White Demon. The rest, unable to do anything, hid."

"What do you mean that they hid?"

"Well..." The storyteller started before a chime echoed through the large cavern, the PA system repeated the chime for a total of nine times. The storyteller just grinned at the gathered pups as they looked at him, hoping that he would continue the story despite the time it was now. "Well I'm afraid that we're out of time for tonight." He said to a collection of disappointed awws from the children.

Kazel watched as the parents came to gather up their kids and to take them home for bed. She couldn't help but to sigh as she watched the young leave, a bit of her parental yearning surfacing as she waited till she was alone with the storyteller at the bonfire.

"You certainly have a way of putting a spin on history to make it sound more like a fairytale, Rhonen."

The storyteller, Rhonen, grinned at her. "What can I say?" He said as he stretched his five foot, eleven inch frame before sitting on a chair nearby. "I'm glad that the youths enjoy my tales."

"They seem to enjoy story time." Kazel said as she sat on one of the benches around the firepit. "Though I wonder if it's because of how you turn history into stories or if it's just an excuse to stay up later."

"Does it really matter? We are living a fairytale now with what happened a few years ago. Besides... The young need to learn their history, and were you that attentive during school?."

"No..." Kezel laughed as she stood up to come closer to the fire. "But still, you always did have a way with words. You could probably sell some poor schmuck an empty box for a good amount of money."

"If I was able to do that, I would have been working as a used car dealer and probably be dead now."

"Instead of the Public Relations guru that we all know and love?" They both chuckled at the comment. "Yeah... You would have been right in the line of fire like the rest of the town instead of being in the safety of the Admin Building..." Kazel's voice dropped off at the memory of what had happened.

"Speaking of love," Rhonen said, clearly changing the subject to stay away from the gloomy thoughts that were surfacing. "How are things between you and Skylar? Certainly things have calmed down enough so you can pursue a relationship between each other."

"I..." Kazel was visibly taken aback at the thought. "Me and Skylar? I haven't... We never..." Rhonen laughed as she got flustered, stumbling over her words.

"Where's that carefree attitude and affable personality you otters are known for?" Rhonen teased. Kazel couldn't find the words to respond to her colleague. "I might be older than most of you, but this old 'Coon isn't blind yet. Anyone with eyes can see how close you two are. Besides you two apparently." The raccoon stood up. "Maybe you should think about things and have a long talk with Skylar. I know that I was in my office, but you two were in the labs when things went down. I don't know what could be going through your minds, but you two do have each other and most of us can see that. So I suggest you find him and claim him before one of the other single rudder butts around here makes a move and you lose your chance with him."

-

That night Kazel found that her thoughts were plagued by past events and the words that Rhonen said had kept her from finding any kind of sleep. No matter how she tossed and turned, she couldn't settle down to sleep and when she tried to close her eyes. Nightmarish images and painful memories would flash from the darkness in a matter of moments. So she spent most of the night awake and staring at the ceiling or the walls of her tiny one room apartment. It was one of many that was built into the wall of the cavern where they now reside. Each one was hastily carved a few years ago to help to give some semblance of privacy to those in the cavern, though most were lucky to have a curtain or a blanket to function as a doorway so no one could just walk by and peer in.

It was early morning when she finally gave up the pretense of trying to get any rest and went over to the multi-function sink. Washing her face, she happened to look up at her reflection in the mirror. Two violet eyes looked back at her with a seemingly unnatural bioluminescence which has helped her see in the darkness of her surroundings, one of her lab's successful experiments. Early on when she had the experiment done on her, she had freaked out seeing her reflection more than once but eventually she was able to cope and get used to it. Though seeing the glow does still startle her now and then.

It was a little after five according to the clocks when she left her lodgings, deciding to take the raccoon's advice and see if Skylar also happened to be up. Going to his room proved futile as a quick glance revealed that the otter wasn't in his room either. She couldn't help but sigh as she had to continue her search.

While at times like in the early morning the cavern felt massive and open, there were times later in the day where the area felt cramped with everyone trying to go about their daily lives. Then again, she doubted that the cavern was ever meant to house over thousands of people for any kind of extended stay. It was only because of the construction of the underground lab that the pocket in the earth was found, and nobody suspected that it would become their salvation at that time. So while the size of a cavern helps limit where one could be, it also was like trying to find that proverbial needle in a haystack and Skylar was proving to be difficult to find.

After searching and not finding him at any of his normal daily locations, there was only one place he could possibly be in her mind.

It was then that she found herself in a Cold Weather Poncho, riding an elevator up into the upper sections of the old facility that they were under. The ride was slow, taking upwards of ten or more minutes as it ascended up the shaft. She never learned how deep the lower parts of the facility were, just that they were buried underground. Though the further up she was taken, the colder the temperature was. She could even see her breath now that she was close to the surface.

The elevator dinged and the doors parted to reveal a halfway much like one might find at a hospital. The normally pristine walls were coated in frozen crystals that used to be in the air, giving the facility a man-made ice cave vibe. While the walls had a glittering beauty to them, the floor had become a simple sheet of ice which made the wide halls difficult to navigate. More than once she nearly lost her footing on the ice, to say nothing of the nightmare that had been the stairwell that finished taking her the rest of the way to the surface.

The closer that she got to the exit, the colder it grew and the more she had to trudge through ice and snow to make it to the exit. Thankfully, there was a path that she could follow through the knee high snow drifts inside the building but the path had already been filling up with more drifting snow. Reaching the exit, she passed the sliding doors. Not that they could stop much now. The doors were frozen open and most of the glass in the building had been long shattered. Kazel continued to follow the path outside where the surrounding snow now reached up to her waist, which was easy since she stood below five and a half feet. Making her slightly smaller than her other, otter brethren. She often cursed her small size, specially times like now where a bigger build would help power through the dense snow on the ground. She certainly wasn't built for this kind of weather, but then again most others weren't but still had to deal with the sudden change. The path seemed to snake its way around the lab facility's grounds, seemingly leading to nowhere particular. She was about to give up her search when she came across something unexpected.

She knew what it was.

Ground Zero.

Feelings as cold as the air around her washed over her body as she looked over the gaping hole before her. The created chasm was more than sixteen hundred feet across and more than a mile around the edges. She couldn't guess how deep it was, but there were exposed labs and hallways where some of her former colleagues were just a few years ago. As much as she tried not to, tears welled up as memories both good and bad surfaced.

"Why...?" She sobbed to no one in particular. "Why did this happen? Why did things have to turn out like this? Why did we deserve to be punished like this? Why?... Why, why, why..." Kazel dropped to her knees as she started to cry in the snow.

"Who's there?" A voice called out from the gray fog, moments before a figure came out. "Kazel? What are you doing out here?"

Kazel just looked at the figure that came to her and started crying into the burlap fabric of their clothes.

After Skylar had found her, he had brought Kazel back to the security barracks that he had turned into his own personal shelter and lab on the surface. The building and rooms were well insulated, however, the unnatural cold was still seeping in in a lot of places and was causing buildup of frost on the walls and furniture. Thankfully, the basement security shelter had plenty of space and offered a decent amount of room for him to work and lodge with a common's breakroom, a few bunk rooms, and an office that he converted into his work space and lab.

Despite being two floors underground, there was still a chill in the air. So while he took off his thick jacket, he still kept the biboverals on and made sure that Kazel stayed wrapped in her poncho. He powered on the small portable heating unit as he puttered around the counter space for another minute before he sat a cup of coco in front of her and took a seat on the other side of the table. Kazel just stared at the coffee table in front of her, seemingly lost to reality around her.

"Kazel..." Skylar spoke, breaking the long silence that had fallen since he brought her in. "What were you thinking? Why did you come to the surface? You should have stayed in the cavern with everyone else." While he was upset with her for leaving the warm safety of the underground, his voice remained calm and collected. Kazel just sat in silence, unmoving and unfazed by his words. Skyalr sighed as he took a sip of his own coco, wondering what he was going to do with her.

"Why..."

"Hmm?" Skylar sat the cup back on the table. "Why, what?"

"Why...?" Kazel finally looked up at him, her violet eyes locking with his icy blue. "Why did this have to happen? What did we do to cause this? Why is the world doomed to a winter hell because of the actions of a select few?"

"I... I don't know." Skylar answered honestly. "The most I can do is speculate." Kazel looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Skylar sighed, taking the non-verbal hint. "Maybe the gods didn't like what we were doing. Maybe those working on the project were cursed, and they just manifested the curse into reality. Or maybe... it was a dumb, freak accedent that got too far out of control and cursed the world into a frozen oblivion."

Silence returned in the room as they both thought about what the other said. Skylar knew that the area where Kazel worked in the labs was where most of the destruction was, but didn't know how close the other otter was to the project. What he did know was that someone he cared for and had feelings for was now showing him how hurt she was from the calamity.

"How many did you know?" Skylar asked.

"thirty -two." She said, her gaze locked on the table again. "Eighteen acquaintances, nine mutual, and five close friends."

"Any family?"

Kazel shook her head to the question. "No, they are... Were... near the Vallon d'Iris River."

Skylar whistled. "That's pretty far away."

"What about you?"

"A few actually, plus family in town."

"Did they..." Kazel started to ask but stopped when Skylar shook his head no. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He said, hiding the pain he felt. "It's not like you were responsible for what had happened." Kazel opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out so she closed it and just looked at the table. "Might want to start on your coco before it becomes a fudgesicle." it was obviously a means to change the subject and distracted her from her thoughts. Thankfully she took it and started to sip on the contents of the mug.

The two sat in silence again as they sipped their hot chocolate, both of them taking pleasure in each other's company as they finished off their drinks. They just sat in the quiet room with the only noises coming from the power generator and heater. Skylar was about to try and get some answers from Kazel again when his thoughts were interrupted by a ringing in another room. He excused himself with a sigh and went to the ringing phone.

"Hello?" He asked into the headset.

"Hey Skylar, it's me."

"Oh, hey Irvan. What can I do for you?"

"Is Kazel topside with you?"

"Yeah... She is, do you guys need her?"

"Nah, Doctor Zale was wondering when she didn't show up for breakfast and Rhonon suggested that she might have been looking for you."

"I kind of figured some of that, but any idea why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Sky." There was a brief pause before Irvan continued. "Hope you're ready to bunker down up there, because one of those superstorms is nearing our location."

"You're kidding me..." Skylar groaned.

"Nope"

"Alright, I'll grab Kazel and head down to the shelter."

"Sorry Sky," Irvan said somewhat apologetic. "It would take too long to get to safety. You know that you're better off where you are."

"Yeah..." Skylar let out dejectedly. He knew that if they were caught out in the eye of the superstorm, both Kazel and him would be frozen solid within a few minutes. More than one group had been a casualty to the roaming superstorms that the Kaiju demon had summoned. "Damn that Kaiju. I'd like to punch it in the nose at least once."

"Then that monster would turn you into an icicle before swallowing you whole. Besides, look on the brightside."

"And that is?"

"You're going to be alone with Kazel for a few days. It's a good time to make a move on her."

Skylar was silent for a moment while he thought about what his friend said. "I... don't know..." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "You think a girl like Kazel is interested in someone like me? I mean she could easily do better."

"Maybe if she was somewhere else, but she's there. With YOU. She went topside on her own and I can't think of any other reason why she would even risk it if it wasn't to see you.."

"True, but..."

"No "but's!" Irvan cut off Skylar. "Now is not the time to second guess yourself. I know you have feelings for her and she probably does too if she went looking for you. Get to know her better. Make a move on her. You are stuck with her for the next five or so days. At least until the storm's eye passes over our area."

"Easier said than done..."

"Look, all I can do is check up on you and try to offer advice. Be yourself and be there for her. The ball is in your court." There was a click as the line went dead when Irvan hung up the other end.

Skylar sighed as he put the headset back in the phone's cradle. Irvan certainly gave him some food for thought and in his own way, was trying to kick him in the tail to get with Kazel. The superstorm showing up was a curse and a blessing at the same time. On the one hand, as Irvan mentioned, he would be alone with his crush for a few days. On the other hand, the two of them will be risking their lives with the coming sub-zero temperatures that's going to be sucked down by the superstorm's eye. A guaranteed death sentence if one was caught unprepared and/or exposed to the elements and if Irvan's warning was any indication, the eye would be upon them in the next fifteen to thirty minutes. Which was verified by the computer in the office that he was using.

Skylar came out of the office where he had set up his impromptu lab and noticed that Kazel was no longer in the barrack's break room. Being a bit worried, he started to search for her by returning to the office and getting back on the computer. The office computer was linked to the security camera network and had access to the facility's cameras that used to be all over the place, though a good portion of the feeds were now static from cameras that didn't survive the cold. He flicked through the various camera feeds until he noticed some movement on one.

"The heck is she doing?" He muttered to himself as he checked the location.

With the clock ticking, he left the safety of the security shelter and made his way up the floors in the barracks. He felt a mixture of confusion and irritation at Kazel as he chased after her, being led upstairs to the main security control room that sat on top of a tower. It was much like an airport's air traffic control room which was situated so one could easily look out of the large windows to view the outside world. When Skylar caught up with her, Kazel was already standing near one of the large glass panes with her back to the interior.

"It's almost tranquil in a deceptive way." Kazel spoke without turning around.

Skylar stepped over to where Kazel was standing and looked out. Outside the gray fog was lifting as the eye slowly approached, revealing the facility complex outside. The sight did have a bit of a tranquil feel to it. The sun was able to reach out and touch the ground for the first time in months as fog vapors were whisk away by the invisible vortex that was in the eye of the storm.

"It is." He responded. "It's too bad that it's only for a few brief moments before the true danger comes."

"Maybe it would be better if we let it come..." The response stunned the male otter.

"Kazel, you can't be serious."

"It's our fault that this happened..."

"It's not our..." Skylar started before she interrupted.

"It is." She turned to look at him. "We were the ones to summon that Kaiju, even if it was an accident. It was us who brought it here. Us who turned it into another experiment. Us who let it..." This time it was Skylar who interrupted Kazel by pulling her into a tight hug.

"Listen," He said as he held her. "It wasn not your fault that so much got out of hand. Those of us in the know tried to get the others to hear our complaints and warnings. We can't let the fact that our words fell on deaf ears. It was their own arrogance that had led to their downfall and caused this world wide calamity." He pushed her away just enough to look into her eyes. "I don't know what connection that you had, nor do I care. You are one of the kindest people I know and I know that if you could have stopped this from happening seven years ago, you would have. But that's in the past and we need to learn from it and move forward with those lessons. Besides, if you died..." He choked up for a moment while tears formed around his eyes. "If you died, then I'd be empty from my heart breaking. I have feelings for you, Kazel, and it hurts me inside to see you like this. I want to see you happy, and... I... want to be with you."

"Sky..." Kazel sniffed as she rested her head against his shoulders. "I want to be with you too."

"Come on..." He said softly. "Let's get down below." He pulled apart from her and guided her to the stairs. However, before she started down, Kazel stopped and looked back out of the window at the clear sky.

"Do you think that we will ever be forgiven?"

"I... Don't know." Skylar answered honestly. The two descended down the stairs as a new layer of frost started to form on the windows...