FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 13 - Peace to the Dreams

---

Once dawn had passed, Leo dropped down to the ground and landed lightly. His eyes returned to their soft emerald and sapphire color as people began to surge around him from all of the armies. His friends stood on the outskirts of the large circle with Valentine and the ancients who decided that it would be better to talk to him after the crowd as dispersed. The crowd shouted and cheered Leo for his accomplishment of defeating such a monstrous person and saving them from being ruled by a dictator in fear. Leo tried to get the crowd to quiet down but that didn't seem possible for the most part because they were louder than Leo. The crowd did eventually disperse to their own sides allowing Leo to breathe much easier.

"Well, you saved the day," said Brian walking up.

"You were awesome like always but never when we were little," said Fiona.

"Dude, we need to make a ballad about this or an epic song," said Alan as he started to think about his idea.

"We are grateful for what you have done for us," said Collins.

"Thanks everyone but nothing could have been done if it wasn't for you guys. We all have a role to play no matter how small it may be. I never knew that ancients could be drained of their power," said Leo looking at everyone.

"Well, it is quiet a dilemma because we didn't know about it either," said Bahamut.

"The ability to drain someone of their power extends to everyone because Valice found an ancient scroll that told about the ancients and the amount of power they have within them. After he found that scroll, he became obsessed with power and was waiting for the day when ancients would appear so he changed entirely. It was scary," said Valentine.

"Who are you?" asked Leo.

"I am Valentine Restrigue, the leader of the elite for the Country of Star. Valice was the leader of the elite for the Country of Goliath. We knew each other when we were kids in a rural town that like equality more than anything. That was the town where Valice found the scroll. I don't remember when he found it but a few days later, the Country of Goliath found the rural town and destroyed it. Valice found this as an opportunity and took it so he basically killed those that loved and raised him. I almost died by his hands if I wasn't able to blind him with dirt and run for my life in to the Country of Star," replied Valentine.

"That's harsh," said Alan as he started to write in the air using his finger.

"Show some sympathy!," shouted Fiona as she punched him in the face. That didn't stop Alan's air writing but he did receive a black eye.

"You don't have to do that," laughed Collins.

"Well I wanted to because he wasn't being very sincere," responded Fiona.

"If I wanted to show some sympathy then I'd punch your face in," said Alan.

"What?! You'd dare hurt an innocent girl?!" shouted Fiona.

"I wouldn't call you innocent," said Brian under his breath but Fiona heard and punched the side of his head really hard.

"Don't you dare insult me!" snapped Fiona.

"He didn't mean to say that!" shouted Valentine as she constrained Fiona.

"You didn't have to hit me hard enough to kill me," said Brian fuming with anger.

Collins went to restrain Brian with Alan's help because they knew something physical action would happen between the two. Valentine was having just as much trouble as Collins and Alan constraining Fiona because Fiona and Brian were insulting each other. Leo, whom everyone neglected during the shouting and constraining, slipped away. The ancients saw him slip away but found the fight between Fiona and Brian more entertaining. Leo flew towards the Raze and found the king waiting on the balcony.

"Will you take me to see the king in the other country?" asked the king.

"I shall," replied Leo as he picked up the king and flew with great speed to Nightingale.

He dropped of the king on the balcony that faced the sun before leaving into the sky again. The king thanked him for his work before entering the building that is attached to the balcony. Leo flew back towards the Country of Goliath but continued past Raze towards the Goliath Mountains. The Goliath Mountains is a range of mountains that lined the edge of the Sand Ocean supposing anyone is able to cross the Sand Ocean from the forest. He landed on a jut that over looked the Sand Ocean and sat there thinking about what he should do next. The Valkyrien sword landed softly behind Leo, perpendicular to his body.

"What will happen now?" whispered Leo.

He sat there from morning to dusk thinking about his past and his potential future. The shadows of the mountain lengthened as the sun left the sky and the three moons appeared. Suddenly, pebbles were disturbed near by and Leo turned to see who it was. A wolf emerged from the darkness and sat next to Leo. His fur was silver that showed brightly against his brown clothing. The eyes were translucent blue and his frame is muscular but not enough to be a body builder. Leo would have harmed the wolf but rather sat by him and looked ahead.

"How have you been doing?" asked the wolf.

"Confused I guess. I just don't know what to do now," responded Leo.

"You don't have to think so hard. Just do what you believe is right," said the wolf.

"I now that, but the choices are hard to make because I don't know where to go next," said Leo looking at the wolf.

"It's just like old times. You can never make choices unless you were forced to and had all the time in the world, right?" laughed the wolf.

"Yes it is, it's just like old times. Have you ever felt that what you're doing is a good thing? I mean, that it is the right thing to do for the well being of others," asked Leo.

"Well, I don't know about that but I guess it just depends on the person's nature. You know? You and I are different but your choices benefit others and not just yourself. The sacrifices you make, though, hurts you a lot more than it hurts me, doesn't it?" responded the wolf.

"It does," said Leo looking down as his dangling feet.

"Well, that can't be changed. It's embedded itself into your body. As for me, I do things that are rational regardless of whether it benefits anyone or not. It's just something I found to be more pleasing in my senses," continued the wolf.

"Do you think that anything would change if I'm not who I am?"

"Yes, practically everything changes because every life is valuable, you know? If one person doesn't exist, then the world that you currently live in would be completely different. So different that I wouldn't know what to expect within everyone you influence. It's a funny thing to tell you the truth. Not everyone values their life and wished they never exist without thinking about the consequences."

"I don't know. I got myself into a predicament that I should have never accepted."

"What predicament? Is it worse compared to that other one?"

"I guess you can say it is worse. This predicament is that I'm supposed to change the future for the better of not only myself but for the other parallel universes. I can't tell if it's even true. I don't see why I have to change the future when I don't know what the future is."

"Maybe you do. You just don't want the responsibility to make a difference."

"I guess you're right."

"I'm always right, you just hate to have to admit it."

"And that's why I love you."

"Sure you do. If you really love me, then you'd admit it."

"Admit that I hate to say you're right?"

"No, not that. You have to admit that other thing."

"Other...thing...?"

"You don't remember do you? I guess that hit to the head must have erased the memory."

"What?! I got hit in the head?! Since when?"

"Forget it. Just forget I ever said that."

"Why can't you just tell me?"

"Well, for one, it would a stupid thing for me to do cause I don't even know where to begin. Second, if I did, I would be going against a promise I made to someone."

"You suck."

"No, you suck for forgetting."

The night sky looked very beautiful with its glimmering stars. Small streaks flowed through the sky which caught both Leo and the wolf's attention. They watched the meteor shower together, a little closer than earlier and soon their shoulders were touching each other. The meteor shower lasted for only a few minutes, enough time for Leo to think about something.

"How did you get here?" asked Leo.

"I don't know. One moment I was asleep, the next I wake up in the mountains," responded the wolf.

"That's strange but I guess that's what I can expect from you," said Leo.

"Now don't be that way," said the wolf bringing his arm around Leo's waist.

"I'm just stressed, tired, confused, and lost so cut me some slack," said Leo.

"I told you, you're thinking too hard," said the wolf.

"I'm not thinking too hard. At most I'm..." began Leo.

"Being a complete idiot for not taking a break," finished the Wolf.

"Do you just love...," began Leo again.

"To complete you sentences? Yes," finished the wolf.

Leo brought his left hand to the Valkyrien sword and moved it next to his body parallel. The wolf moved in closer to Leo as the wind began to pick up as it came down from the mountain. It was cold enough for Leo to see his breath every time he exhaled.

"Have you decided what you're going to do right now?" asked the wolf looking across the Sand Ocean.

"No. I know that I have an obligation to meet but I just can't tell what I should do. Even if I did, I wouldn't know if it's the right thing to do," said Leo.

"Why don't you just go home then and forget about all of this?" asked the wolf.

"I can't abandon those that are in need of my help!" responded Leo.

"How do you know there are people that need help? You're not even where the help is needed," said the wolf

"I know but the thought of being a hero is always a good thing no matter what the consequences may be. Being a hero was my childhood dream and I forgot all about it until now. I remember how I would dream about people cheering my name and the such," chuckled Leo.

"If you want to be a hero, then you should already know that heroes have their difficult moments to. This is a difficult moment if you ask me," said the wolf.

"Yeah, this is a difficult moment for me," responded Leo down at his feet once again.

"Is it just me or is it getting colder?" murmured the wolf.

"It's just you," replied Leo as he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on what next to do.

"Get some rest, maybe then your thoughts will clear up," said the wolf resting his head on Leo's shoulder and drifted off into sleep.

Leo stayed awake as he looked into the stars for some sort of answer that the night sky could give him but it was impossible. Stars can't talk. Yet, looking at the stars always made Leo loosen up and empty out his mind without any attempt for sleep.

"I know what I should do now," thought Leo as he looked towards the stream of magic. The stream continued to glistened with gold but now had silver and bronze mixed within it. It indeed is a marvelous thing to look at aside from the night sky.

The grew colder as the night wore on. Leo remained awake, even through dusk because he didn't need much sleep for what is going to happen. By morning, the rulers of both countries have successfully designed a peace treaty that they can appreciate and grow upon. The peace treaty declared that the two nations become one and their towns are opened to integration of both races. Any towns that were destroyed during the war are to be repaired and re inhabited so it can flourish once again along with the other cities and towns. The government will contain the best aspects of both countries and run by two elected leader regardless of gender. Everyone was cheering but Leo couldn't hear it from the mountains.

"Have you been awake all night?" asked the wolf catching Leo by surprise.

"Ya, I thought about what to do next," responded Leo.

"What are you going to do next?" questioned the wolf.

"I'm going to continue until the end with my friends. I have an duty to complete and I will finish it...even if it means I am to die," replied Leo confidently.

"If your mind is set on that, then that is what you must do," said the wolf sitting up.

"Well, I should get going," said Leo as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Be safe and I'll see you again. Maybe sooner than you'd expect," said the wolf as Leo stood up and flew into the air a short distance.

"I hope I do see you again after all this is over," said Leo before flying out over the Sand Ocean.

The wolf stood on the ledge until Leo was out of sight before he turned around and walked into the mountain. Just as he appeared, he mysteriously leaves the land without leaving a single trace of his disappearance.

Leo flew past Raze that is full of excitement and cheering about the peace treaty. Leo drew close to the battle zone when he noticed something flying towards him. He spotted small specs that grew larger in the distance. The small specs were the ancients carrying Fiona, Collins, Brian, and Alan. Leo quickly recognized who the specs were when they grew big enough and flew towards them. Both parties met each other at the edge of the forest.

"Where'd you go?!" snapped Fiona.

"I went to go think," replied Leo calmly as he looked across the trees and the front lines.

"What should we do now? Enjoy the rest of our lives here?" asked Collins.

"You want to come with us?" asked Alan in shock.

"I don't have a job anymore so I thought you guys look like better company," replied Collins smiling wide.

"That's amazing," said Alan in awe.

"Well, welcome to the party," said Brian happily.

"I'm not done with you yet Brian!" shouted Fiona vehemently.

"I'm not done with you either!" shouted Brian just as strong.

While they were talking amongst each other, Alan and Collins about what to expect on their next adventure and Brian and Fiona arguing once again, Leo noticed that the ancients were unusually quite as the scenery began to slowly spin. The colors start to blend on the edge of his visionary limit. The white and blue sky mixed with the green and brown land. The blending slowly made its way towards the group. The blending colors looked like camouflage clothing only with more colors than green, dark green, and brown. Suddenly, all was quiet as the colors became black. The ancients and his friends were frozen and soon faded away as a light shined behind him. Out of the darkness came a stream of blue light which run under Leo's feet and on. Other streams of blue light appeared out of the darkness as Leo looked around him.

"Where am I now?" murmured Leo.

"Come to me," wheezed a voice.

Leo listened to where the voice was coming from but he didn't know which direction it came from. A few seconds later, the voice spoke the same thing again and Leo's leg moved on its own ahead of him as his mind took control of them once again. Leo walked down the blue stream but saw nothing but darkness ahead of him until a small white dot appeared on the sheet of black. It soon grew bigger into the size of the sun or even bigger. The road ended on its white wall that looked just as blue as the stream of light. Leo touched the wall and it split open to reveal a hollow room. He walked in and the opening closed once he past through. The room was dark before something illuminated itself in the center. The illuminated item is a small orb which Leo approached with caution, unaware that he still held his sword.

"What is that?" thought Leo when he got close enough to see that the orb is one of those used by some psychics to predict the future for people.

It shined and Leo lifted his free arm to touch it. The temptation to touch the orb never occurred to Leo's mind as he continued to gaze at the orb with an out stretched arm just inches away. His fingers touched the surface and a current of electricity ran through his body but it didn't hurt rather just passed through his body. What it did, though, was blind Leo as he saw nothing but white before he scenery returned with a large grassy field covered with thousands of glass shards all different shapes and sizes.

"I know where this is," said Leo aloud. "I'm in the Valley of Broken Dreams."