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"DIL!" I screamed as I watched the dark laser move slowly towards the panther and I was powerless to stop it for several reasons. The first was because I was so exhausted from all the energy and magic I had used in order to keep the Shadows (That attacked me and Dil on our way to Dil's house from the hospital) busy so that Dil could get away to safety. It would have worked too if Dil would have fucking listened to me like he was supposed to! But like always he makes things difficult...

The second (And main) reason I couldn't save Dil from his impending doom was because three of the jellyfish Shadows had their tentacles wrapped around me so tight that I couldn't move, let alone lift my sword or even a finger while the Shadows charged up for the finishing blow.

Anyway, now that you caught up to recent events let's get back to the situation at hand shall we? Tears of rage and frustration gushed out of my eyes while I tried to thrash and struggle pointlessly against the grip of the Shadows. I closed my eyes and looked down at the last second, not wanting to see my friend get vaporized.

BOOM!

I went limp, all fight leaving my system 'It's over...Dil's gone...I failed him...I'm sorry Dil...I'm sorry I failed you. Even with these powers I'm worthless' Tears of sadness now gushed down my cheeks.

Suzaku's voice sounded sad as well as he tried to comfort me but it was no use... Dil was gone. "Ben I know you are hur-" Suzaku stopped himself mid-sentence as if something interrupted him. "Um, Ben you need to see this!" Suzaku said, his voice laced in shock.

I only scoffed in response "What? Did the Shadows merge to something really powerful after they ate my best friend? So what? What's the point of even caring? I don't have the energy nor the will to-" I was interrupted when I was smacked by Suzaku's wing, the pain not even registering.

_"Shut up you fool and look at Dil! He is very much alive! "_Suzaku shouted angrily in my head.

"What!?" I whipped my head up only to close my eyes again when I was blinded by a large pillar of light that erupted from Dil's previous location, huge arcs of lightning also surrounded the pillar that occasionally hit the ground with a massive clap of thunder. I squinted through the glare, trying to see what was going on but I still couldn't see shit. The light's intensity was so powerful it lit up the whole park and probably a couple city blocks as if it were daytime. The Shadows closest to Dil retreated very quickly to my position, shrieking in pain from the light.

'Hm...' I thought to myself. 'I guess the Shadow's are weak against light based magic...' Suddenly I was turned around to face a rip in space that led into a world of darkness. Looking inside the hole, I felt multiple Shadows of power levels on the scale of tiny to horribly strong.

"Shit! The Shadows are retreating to the Dark Realm and it looks like they are taking you with them! Quick, get out of there! If you step through that gate we are FUCKED!" I struggled with all my might against the restraints (Even Suzaku tried to pull me out even though this gesture was pointless since he couldn't affect the physical realm since he was only inside my head) but the grip the Shadows had on me were too strong! All I did was slow them down slightly but not by much.

"FUCK! LET GO OF ME YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" I screamed as we made our way to the gate. The Shadows of course didn't listen to me and I wished just this once that screaming on top of one's lungs to stop worked! We were about an inch from the portal and I was just about to give up hope when suddenly an arrow of light vaporized the Shadows that were holding me. They didn't die out quietly because their death cries nearly deafened me with a scream as it vanished in the usual show of disappearing in wisps of darkness, though the lights that usually disappeared with the shadows instead flew away quickly to somewhere like they were on a mission. Another arrow was launched at the portal, sealing it just as I was about to fall through it.

Suddenly I felt warm familiar feeling arms wrap around me and picked me up like I weighed nothing at all and before I could blink, I was moving at the same speed I traveled when I 'Quick Stepped' yet I wasn't the one doing it. I was dropped on the ground, still trying to adjust from the dizziness I felt from the sudden change vertigo. When I recovered, a quick glance told me I was next to my sword and I grabbed it as I looked up at my savior.

I had a feeling on knowing who it was but my mouth still dropped when I saw Dil; his usual clothes were replaced with a white tunic and a demonic looking creature along his back. He was also wearing a black pair of pants with white crosses along each knee. He was also wearing some new kicks that were a split of solid black color on one side of the shoes and solid white on the other. A white scarf with a black tip wrapped around his neck finished the look.

The material was just thin enough that I could see his choker underneath it. Dil, who was now aiming a bow which glowed in a radiant blue light. I guess it kinda made sense for Dil's weapon to be a bow since he practiced archery with the same enthusiasm I have when playing basketball. He was pretty damn good at it too because his room back home was filled with various trophies he had won at several archery competitions.

He had a look of complete and utter focus on his face but he took a little bit to ask me something. "You alright?" He asked me while keeping his eyes focused on the Shadows.

I felt my mouth gaping like a fish out of water and I managed to close it before I replied with a shaky. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

"Good, can you still fight?" Dil asked, training one eye on me. I moved to grab my sword and Dil watched me as I used it to shakily struggle to get it halfway standing before I nearly passed out from exhaustion and the pain that radiated from my burned leg.

Dil smirked and chuckled "I take that as a no then?" I only grumbled in response as I dropped my sword to check and clutch the burn on my leg. Dil's expression became serious again "Don't worry I'll take care of these guys. You just stay here and rest...doctor's orders...and just so you'll listen to me this time" Dil grabbed me again, moving so fast that I only had to blink once before we reached our destination. Then he threw me against a huge nearby tree and as soon as my back touched the bark he quickly cast a spell. "Chaines de Luminere!" And shackles made of the same blue light his bow was made of wrapped around my wrists and ankles, rendering me completely immobile and tied against the tree.

"There! That should hold!" Dil said while clapping his paws as if to clear dirt from them in a 'job-well-done' gesture and smirked as he watched me recover my wits and try to struggle against the restraints. Suzaku tried (Unsuccessfully) to muffle his giggles into one of his wings.

"I didn't know Dil was into this kind of play...looks like your boyfriend is one kinky kitty." The bird said, still giggling about the whole situation.

Ignoring Suzaku, I shouted at the smirking panther. "DIL, LET ME GO! This is so unnecessary! DIL LET ME GO SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!!" the panther only laughed at my expense.

"With incentive like that why should I? Now shut up so I can focus!" And with that Dil turned his attention to the Shadows who were just beginning to charge up for a new round of blasts. "Shit..." Dil mumbled under his breath before he started to run at his normal speed while launching a volley of arrows, all of which the Shadows managed to dodge the arrows easily. Just as Dil's last arrow was dodged, the Shadow released their shots but did something I didn't even expect; they released a hail storm of smaller (But just as deadly) dark lasers. Seeing Dil's panic filled expression, even from my current position I took a deep breath and focused. Suddenly a 360 degree shield appeared around Dil just in time to save him from being made into swiss cheese. I yelled at Dil as soon as it was safe to drop the shield.

"STAY ON GUARD DUMBASS! SHADOWS ARE UNPREDICTABLE! DON'T LET THE POWER GO TO YOUR HEAD OR YOU ARE AS GOOD AS DEAD!" Dil recovered from his shock and started sprinting again while shooting another volley of arrows.

"THANKS FOR THE ASSIST BEN!" Dil shouted back in response. My Reaper powers suddenly vanished and the edges of my vision began to turn black, and I had to fight to keep my eyes open and my head up.

"That was the last of our reserves Ben," Suzaku said while letting out a huge yawn. "Need...to...rest," with that Suzaku was out like a light. I looked at Dil one final time and saw that the feline was running and dodging around the Shadows and their laser blasts in a speed on par with the Shadows; All of which moved too fast for my eyes to follow (Something I needed Quick Step to even come close to achieve and realizing that it was Dil's normal speed by how effortlessly it was for him to keep up). Dil appeared to be holding his own for now but it was hard to tell when I was just watching blurs move across the battlefield.

"The...rest...is up...to you Dil..." With that said, I finally gave into my bodies urges and slipped into dreamland. Before I was out completely, I swear I felt like I was falling...

~~~

"Good, Ben finally passed out! Those shackles were getting annoying to keep up!" I stated to Cosmo as I watched Ben's unconscious form fall to the ground.

"Yeah but there went our Plan B in the event we can't dodge all the attacks in time..." Replied Cosmo who was flying next to me and every now and then giving me advice when I needed it.

"Guess we'll just have to make sure we dodge those attacks then!" I shouted while releasing another volley of ten arrows as fast as I could and successfully landed four hits each on two Shadows, completely annihilating them. Up until now I couldn't hit the Shadows because they moved way too quickly and I was still getting used to my powers...that or I could be making up excuses.

Oh well...at least there was only three left. Another piece of good news is that my eyesight seemed to have been enhanced quite a bit! And I think I'm starting to be able to read their movements a lot better as well. It seemed they always floated side to side to dodge and every now and then would move down to escape my arrows but only if they had no other choice. It seemed to take them a bit of time and energy to recover lost altitude. Now knowing this, the rest of the fight should be a piece of cake right?

The three Shadows suddenly stopped moving in their crazy zig-zag patterns and then fused into a solid shape melded into darkness.

"Oh good, looks like they are retreating" I stated as I was about to put away my bow when Cosmos face was paling just a tad and actually looked terrified in great contrast to his usually upbeat self.

"Look and think again Dil!" I followed his direction and saw a massive octopus-like Shadow standing where the three smaller ones had been. I felt myself gulp in shock

"Oh...my...God..." I stared open mouthed at the monster until the sight of a tentacle coming at me forced me to snap out of it. "We are so fucked!" I shouted as I barley dodged the multitude of lasers being launched at me and trying to avoid the added danger of being smashed or grabbed by the tentacles it wasn't using to turn me into swiss cheese. At least its movements weren't as fast or faster than it was in previous forms or I probably would have died in ten seconds.

"Dil calm down! Panicking gets us nowhere so instead of doing that and running around like a pansy wasting energy, why don't you try to actually attack and think of a way to destroy the crazy monster trying to fuck us over? I'm not much for tentacle porn so I prefer not to be fucked by this guy!" Cosmos stated as if it was the easiest thing to do in the world while chuckling at the little joke at the end.

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! I'M ALREADY CALM NOW THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! INSTEAD OF JOKING AROUND WHY DON'T YOU HELP ME THINK OF A WAY TO KILL THIS THING!" I shouted as I launched wave after wave of arrows at the creature while dodging for my life against the Shadow's attacks.

"Okay okay...I'll be serious...I only tried to brighten the situation and calm you down with humor! No need to bite my head off!" Cosmo replied while sighing and focused his attention back on the monster to look for weak points.

I didn't want to admit it but Cosmo's joke did calm me down a little. I shook that from my thoughts as I focused all my attention back to the fight just as a few lasers grazed me. They didn't inhibit my ability to fight but they stung like a bitch! I noticed the attacks I was dishing out however, were blocked easily by its tentacles while doing nothing to the monster besides pissing it off. "Fuck this thing is invulnerable to my attacks...what now?"

"Keep firing!" Cosmo shouted as I was about to say something but the being shushed me and exclaimed in a hurried fashion, "just do it Dil!"

I huffed in annoyance but I did as Cosmo ordered and watched my arrows get blocked like toothpicks and after a few minutes of this, Cosmo suddenly said "Aim for its head!" I didn't see how that would help matters but I silently followed orders and was shocked to hear the Shadow scream in agony when a couple of hits on that particular area got through its defense.

"It's weak spot! I found it! It's the head! Jump in the air and hit it with everything you have!" Cosmo said, excitedly yelling over the Shadows screams. I grinned as I jumped 10 feet in the air, shooting a hailstorm of arrows at the octopus's head while it screamed in agony which quickly became my favorite soundtrack. I did this for 20 minutes or so while dodging the Shadow's counter attacks before one of his tentacles slipped behind me and held me inside it rib shattering grip.

"Fuck..can't...breathe" I said while trying to get air into my lungs. Is this really how I was going to die being so close to victory?

"Dil remember your power is light! Shadow's are weak to light! Dig deep in yourself and use it!" Cosmo yelled while hitting the monsters tentacles in a desperate fashion. It of course, didn't work since he couldn't affect the outside world but he didn't seem to care (I think the stress of battle was finally getting to him, especially when we were so close to victory)

"Easy for you to say!" I mumbled but I tuned out the white noise and did as he said and dug deep and found a warmth there I didn't feel until now. I yanked it to the surface and suddenly my hands started to glow with a really bright light which seemed to disintegrate the tentacle. The monster gave a horrible screech of pain as it threw me aside. I quickly brought my bow back and started shooting the thing full of holes. It continued to scream in pain but I didn't care because this thing was going down!

As I landed, I did a quick assessment of my injuries. I had a few burns scattered across my body from where I got grazed by those lasers. I also winced as I felt one of my ribs and it felt like it was either broken or bruised, not sure which. The octopus seemed a bit worse off though. I almost felt bad for the creature while it thrashed and screamed in agony...almost. A small part of me was dancing in joy of how much pain I was causing it because that meant I was really close to victory.

"That thing just doesn't know when to die...Let's put an end to this!" Said Cosmo giving the Shadow a hate filled look.

I nodded and jumped in the air while shooting volley after volley at the beast, giving it everything I had into every shot but with all of my efforts, all I was doing was just injuring it. Apparently I wasn't powerful enough to finish it off and I landed on the ground, only to soar into the air once more and when I reached the top of my jump Cosmos said "Finishing blow time! Now summon an arrow, but instead of releasing it immediately hold it to the string and don't let go of it until I say so!" I followed Cosmos direction to the latter and watched as the arrow grew and grew until it looked massive. I saw bits of electricity snaking through the arrow but I still held it as best as I could. It wasn't until my bow and arms were shaking from the stain and the arrow, which was now coated in electricity Cosmo finally said "FIRE!" and a word popped into my head.

"Colere Divine!" I shouted as I released the arrow (Which sent me flying back by the sheer recoil of the attack!) at the Shadow who had just recovered from its pain induced haze enough to see the arrow coming toward it. The octopus monster stayed where it was and instead of dodging, it tried to slow and stop the arrow with its dark lasers. Big mistake!

The arrow cut though all the blasts of darkness as if they were paper. Realizing this, the octopus tried to dodge the arrow at the last second but by then it was too late. The arrow impacted at the center of the Shadows face and with the impact, it creating a huge explosion of light and roaring thunder. I would've been freaked out but I was too busy being thrown even farther back by the sheer force of the explosion sending me flying like a rag doll. I managed to catch myself and was able to land on my feet (Thank god cats always land on their feet.)

I gaped a bit when I saw where the monster had been not even a few minutes ago... there was a massive crater where the monster had once been and all that was left were several glowing lights. Instead of disappearing like they usually did they went inside me for some reason...what are these lights anyway? I was about to ask Cosmo when he said "Don't relax Dil we got company!"

"What? We obliterated the fucking thing! There's nothing left! How do we have-" I was interrupted when I felt something like claws slash across my shoulder. The claws left a chilling cold behind that both numbed the area and made it burn like crazy. I turned to face my attacker and saw a total of three shapes of a mix of feral and anthro white (Wow a change of color!) snow leopard with icy-blue scarves covering their eyes.

All wounds and exhaustion that I had felt were long forgotten by this point "DAMN IT! It's always something! Every time I fix one problem another shows up! Can I even get a break?" I shouted my rage and frustration at the Shadows in front of me.

Cosmo started before his words were lost and I was hit with an unshakable rush of anger. I tried every trick in the book to calm down but my breath and pulse were growing at a rapid pace. I couldn't unclench my fists and my vision was slowly turning red. The last thing I remembered was roaring like a feral before I blacked out.

~~~

With Dil's feral roar three things happened at once.

1) Cosmo disappeared in a flash of light while holding his head as if he had a really bad headache and yelling out in an equally feral roar of rage that echoed even after he left.

2) Dil's bow had vanished and was replaced with a glove of 6 to 7 inch long claws covered in lightning, though it was a reddish color instead of blue sparks that flew from the gloves and some didn't disappear until they reached his elbows.

3) The three Shadows attacked even faster than the jellyfish shadows.

Everything seemed to go at a slower speed than normal to the figure watching the confrontation. It had been watching the fight from the very beginning, watching curiously to see the powers of these mortals. The figure wasn't impressed by the Reaper wolf. He seemed far too weak but the panther on the other hand had caught the figures interest. The figure hadn't expected the boy to suddenly develop powers and was even more surprised when he took out the Polpo-Signore by himself either. The Figure quickly shook its covered head before turning its attention to the fight again.

Dil turned his attention to the Shadows with an expression that screamed blood lust and attacked the Shadows with claws already swinging as if he couldn't wait to sink them into something. With one sweep of Dil's paw, one of the Shadows were destroyed with ease and that just left two in Dil's path.

After a couple of minutes of each side dodging each others attacks with ease, one of the snow leopards landed a lucky hit in across Dil's back while Dil's attention was fixed on the other Shadow. The slash ripped so deep into Dil's clothes and fur and skin that it should have been fatal. But Dil just screamed in pain as blood flew in all directions from his wound and for a brief moment it looked like he was finished before suddenly the flow of blood gushing out of Dil's back was stopped when dark energy appeared on Dil's back. When it cleared, Dil's wound were gone like nothing happened.

Dil then threw lightning strikes with one paw and balls of red-tinted light with the other until the Shadow exploded, leaving just one to deal with Dil's wrath. That Shadow however, was quickly annihilated by a flurry of attacks that were way too fast for a normal fur to follow (Nor could the Shadows it seemed because it was powerless to stop Dil's assault.) When Dil jumped back from the Shadow, he didn't even make it to the ground before the Shadow fell to pieces and couldn't let out a scream of pain.

Dil let out a roar of triumph before he stopped mid-roar and fell to his knees and finally to the ground unconscious while his powers dispersed as he fell. Not even seeing the figure dressed in a blood red cloak disappear in a portal exactly the same as the ones that the Shadows make.

~~~

Alexander paced around the room for the hundredth time this hour. He hadn't been able to sit down for awhile now. He gave another look at the clock which read 12:20 AM, then to the TV which had some breaking news story about strange lights and explosions happening in the park an hour or so ago and finally to the door which had yet to open to reveal Dil coming home from the hospital.

"He should have been back by now... Dil has always been very punctual...this is out of character for him to be out so late without contacting me. But then again Dil can't go very far without coming close to some kind of danger...I hope the lights in the park didn't have anything to do with him...I felt several powerful shadows sprout up today. Damn his ability to stumble into trouble! I should have sealed his powers when I had the chance."

Alexander punched a nearby wall in frustration just as his feline ears caught the sounds of the door opening. Alex watched the door as it revealed Ben who looked like he had been through a war-zone. He had bruises scattered across his body and he looked like he was bleeding badly. Alexander also noticed a nasty looking burn on the wolf's leg. He was carrying Dil on his back and strangely enough, the panther seemed unharmed but he seemed to be knocked out. Alexander quickly ran up to the pair. Both of their clothes were torn so badly they looked like they were wearing rags.

"What happen-" Was all Alex could get out before Ben collapsed to the floor with Dil still unconscious on top of him.

~~~

I awoke in a warm bed, hurting all over with someone dressing my wounds. 'Please tell me I'm not in the hospital...I just got out!' I opened my eyes and practically growled at the sudden change from darkness to the bright light coming from the lamp right next to the bed and the ceiling fan that was now on.

"Sorry for blinding you Ben, but I need to see in order to stop you from bleeding to death on my floor and bed..." said a deep familiar voice, presumably from the person dressing my wounds. I opened my eyes this time a bit more slowly to let my eyes adjust to the bright light so I could finally see the person dressing my wounds and was surprised to find it was Dil's dad. 'Must have made it before I passed out after-all...' I thought as I tried to get up so I could clear my still hazy mind only to be pushed back down again. "Stay still or you'll open up your wounds again!" I gave a slight nod to show that I understood since any other movement made me dizzy.

Eventually I managed to ask the one question in my mind while being here, with my throat being very dry as if I've gone through the desert itself. "Where is Dil?"

"Right next to you on my bed, which was the only place big enough to hold the two of you while I fixed you both...well only you since Dil appears to be fine except for the fact he is still unconscious and it appears that I can't take off his charm." When Father Patterson appeared to be finished with his work, he reached over on the table and gave me a glass of water that I didn't see there and began to put all the medical stuff back in the first aid kit.

As I sipped on my water and watched him clean up, suddenly everything came back to me in a flash. The fight, Dil's sudden transformation and me passing out only to wake up close to a crater which is where I found an unconscious Dil who I basically almost had to drag the rest of the way to his house. Although I don't remember the trip or where I passed out at...all I remember was thinking that I had to get Dil home before someone went to investigate and found us in the crater and it must have been Suzaku's handiwork that got us here safe and sound.

I was suddenly pulled out of my daydreaming by Father Patterson sitting on the bed and asking "Benedict, what happened?"

'What hasn't happened?' I thought as I rubbed my head as if I had a headache while I tried to come up with a convincing lie. Before I could however, Father Patterson said "Does it have anything to do with the Shadows that have been after Dil lately?

I nearly fell out of the bed if not for Father Patterson catching me and pulling me back up "H-How do know about the Shadows?" this made the Preacher chuckle.

"Let's just say this panther has been around the block a few times and leave it at that okay Benedict...? So you're a Reaper now? My sensory powers may not be as good as Dil's but I know a Reaper when I see one...Now that you know I know a little something about the supernatural world I want you to tell me what happened starting with what happened on Monday."

Still trying to get over the shock of Dil's dad (Who is our Church's Preacher I might add...) believing in the existence of supernatural beasts and of spirits who reap the souls of the living to send them to the afterlife. I started mine and Dil's tale from the beginning with little to no interruptions from Father Patterson, besides to ask a few questions here and there. Our major interruption came when I started to sob like a pup at the part where I was sent to reap my own grandfather. Father Patterson's only response was to hug me and say "No one should have been forced to do that...its okay to grieve, you aren't less of a wolf if you do." with that I sobbed my eyes out for a few minutes until I eventually calmed down enough to finish telling my story.

Just when I was about to tell him about what happened tonight, I was interrupted by the sounds of Dil groaning which immediately caused me and the older panther to go to his side.

"Dil are you awake son?" He asked while clutching Dil's shoulder to I guess show Dil he was there.

"Dil wake up buddy!" I said while gently shaking Dil until his eyes opened and he hissed presumably at the sudden bright light. After he rubbed his eyes to clear the sleep from them he said "Dad...Ben? Where am I? What happened?"

Suddenly Dil's eyes widened in panic until he took in his surroundings and saw that he was at home. Then he visibly relaxed but had a curious look on his face "Who took out the Shadows?" which caused me to give him a confused look.

"You mean the jellyfish Shadows? I thought you did?"

Dil nodded "Yeah I took out those...well after they turned into a huge octopus Shadow but what I'm talking about the Shadows that showed up after...I think they were some kind of feline...snow leopard I think..."

"Dil start from the beginning and what do you mean you destroyed the Shadows? Do you have a power I don't know about?" Asked Father Patterson while gripping his tail in his paws, something that Dil must have inherited from him because he did that as well when he was curious about something.

"I'll explain but can I get a drink first? My mouth feels like I haven't had any water in days!" Dil said while making a move to get up but stopped with widened eyes when he saw something underneath the blanket. "Um, dad why am I naked?" Wait...? Did that mean... I yelped and tried to cover more of myself up with the blanket when I noticed I was naked as well 'How did I not notice this earlier?!'

"Sorry boys, the clothes you came home in were basically rags so I just got rid of those while I patched Ben up...must have forgotten about that during the excitement!" Father Patterson said while smiling and rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Dad!" Dil whined. "Could you have at least covered us up with some towels or something!?"

"I honestly didn't think it was a big deal since we're all guys here. Besides I used all my towels from my bathroom while trying to stop Ben's bleeding...which reminds me..." he said as he went to my side of the bed, quickly lifted up the blanket before I could protest and reached in a paw which came out with a bag of slightly steaming water "I have to get more ice for that burn on Ben's leg...hey Ben is your element Fire?"

Embarrassed from the sudden treatment, I managed to mumble "Yeah, its Wind and Fire why?"

"No wonder you radiate heat like a furnace and melt huge bags of ice in under a minute! I thought you had a real bad fever. You about gave me a heart attack when I took your temperature earlier! About called the hospital until I noticed you were a Reaper..." The older panther chuckled and left the room, "Hang on I'll be back with more ice and a glass of water for Dil and some towels for you guys to cover up in." with that the older cat left me and Dil in an awkward silence until I broke it.

"I kinda forgot how much you and your father are alike..." I said just as I heard a thud, the sound of breaking glass followed by swears I did not expect coming from a preacher.

"Yeah he does kinda act like one big kitten sometimes...wait, I do not act like my Dad!" Said Dil while he hit me on the arm pretty hard.

"Well there are a few similar-" I began before he interrupted me.

"No there is not!" Dil said, hitting me in the arm again.

"It's not a bad thing! Some people say I'm like my grandfath-" I stopped when the horrible memory of my grandfather dying resurfaced.

I was so lost in the memory that I wasn't brought back to reality until Dil asked "Ben? Hey, are you ok?" After I cleared my suddenly blurry vision, I noticed a few tears had fallen down my cheeks and on the blanket.

I quickly wiped away traces of the tears, looked at Dil's face that was now tinged in worry, tried to smile a bit as I cleared my throat and said "Yeah Dil I'm alright. Just something in my eyes is all." Bad lie I know and Dil knew it wasn't the truth either but he just said "Ok" and the subject was dropped just as Father Patterson returned in the room.

"Sorry I took so long... I slipped on some water I must have spilled earlier while making ice so I had to clean up the glass from a cup that shattered during the fall AND clean up the water all over the damn floor...anyway here are the towels!" Which Dil and I put on quickly while he continued "And your water Dil and Ben's ice bag...now what exactly happened tonight?"

Dil and I took turns telling the story since at some parts the other wasn't there but finally after an hour or so we finished bringing each other up to speed. Just then the song 'Till I Collapse' started to play from somewhere in the living room.

"That's my phone. Must be Hope calling back....Hey Father Patterson where did you put my phone?" I asked while getting up from the bed, barely avoiding tripping over the towel still wrapped over my waist.

"Should be on the kitchen table!" He stated.

"Oh Ben! I should still have some clothes that you left over when you came over to spend the night last time here! They should be in my closet still in a bag!" Dil shouted after me.

"Ok thanks, I'll bring some of your clothes out as well...wait a second" I said while I back tracked my way back to behind the door-frame that led to Father Patterson's room to peak my head back in to stare oddly at Dil "Why didn't you mention the clothes before?"

Dil shrugged. "In all the excitement I forgot about it until a little bit ago but I didn't want to get up to fetch them and besides..." Dil gave an awfully lurid smirk "I was enjoying the view" he ended the last part with a purr that I could hear from my position in the doorway.

I knew Dil was just joking but that didn't stop my face from growing hot as my body tried to decide which was more important...blood circulation to my brain or to the raging erection tenting the suddenly very cramped towel that was the only thing that hid my modesty and judging by my response of me glaring at Dil and ducking my head away from the doorway while grumbling "I hate it when you do that...not funny Dil!" Judging by the hysterical laughter from both the panthers I guess they heard that comment. I tried to keep the embarrassment from my voice as I answered the phone that connected me to a very hysterical Hope as I walked to Dils room to get dressed while filling in Hope on the party that she missed...

~~~

I was still laughing even after Ben slammed the door to my room "God, I needed that" My dad managed to say when we both recovered from our laughing fit.

"Yeah we all did after the last couple of days we've been having...shame that Ben couldn't share in that laugh but hey you can't please everyone." I replied after I wiped the tears from a really good laugh from my eyes.

"True but he'll get over it, Ben's a big boy! He can take a joke...but I have a feeling that by the tent you're pitching underneath the blankets you weren't lying though" Panic filled me as I cursed under my breath and quickly adjusted my non-existent boner from view with my dad laughing at my reaction. Panic quickly turned to anger and I glared daggers at my father. I was in the middle of a fantasy of transforming and turning my dad into a new pin cushion when I heard my dad say "What, your old man can't joke around either? But judging by your reaction you finally stopped denying what I knew would eventually happen for a few years now...so are you ever going to tell em?"

I shook my head in response, "and destroy our friendship? I don't think so...besides I don't even know if he swings that way...Ben keeps throwing me mixed signals...I really don't want to talk about it!" I said while clenching my fists and taking a sudden interest to the TV that was still showing the news over the park incident.

My dad shrugged nonchalantly as if this conversation was just that casual to begin with. "I was just curious, I really don't care about your love life and that's your business..." While my dad plopped on the bed next to me he asked, "What I'm really curious about is this new power of yours...can you show me?"

"I don't know I- hold on" I stopped myself when I began and heard Cosmo's voice inside my head. "Use your choker as the focal point to your power..."

'Can you explain using English and not something of a really bad anime?' I thought to him, raising an eyebrow a bit just as Cosmo appeared on my shoulder while saying "Where's the fun in that?" with his own raised eyebrow. My only response was to stare blankly at him.

"Ok fine. To summon your power bring your light...which before you ask is the warmth you feel in your chest at this moment...and move it to the choker around your neck..." Cosmo said before he disappeared again in a mini flash of light. 'Never going to get used to that' I thought as I rubbed my eyes to clear them of the spots I now saw from the imaginary flash. 'Well here goes nothing...' I thought as I closed my eyes to concentrate on the warmth in my chest that moved surprisingly easy to its destination.

"Um, Dil you probably already know this but your choker is glowing." My dad said as I felt him adjust himself to a standing position next to me. I opened my eyes with a "What?" and I saw my dad reach out to touch my choker before I was consumed in a pleasant warmth while everything around me was consumed in a really big flash of light. When the light cleared I was in the same getup I was in earlier that night with my bow in my right paw.

"Damn it I'm too late..." Alex grumbled while hitting the wall with a fist in frustration while his expression became thoughtful. "Hmm maybe not." He said while he rubbed his chin.

"What was that dad? I didn't hear you." I said while Cosmo showed me how to dismiss my bow which I did about a second after.

"Nothing son...I want to try something real quick if you'll let me..." he walked up to me and clutched my choker before I could stop him while he closed his eyes and began to mouth chant words that I couldn't lip read because he said them really fast. My eyes widened and my heart began to beat faster when I saw a purple aura begin to form around dad along with a light headed feeling that caused me to lean on my dad for support "Da-Dad what are you doing?" I managed to say before my dad was sent flying out of his room and all the way into a nearby bookcase in the living room.

"DAD!" I shouted after the feeling of being light headed flowed out of me and rushed to his side and pulled the shelf of him just as Ben crashed through my bedroom door in his full Reaper get up while saying-

"I felt Dil's powers activate and I heard a crash! What's going on? Is it another Shadow attack already?"

"No, just my Dad being sent flying across the house after he tried to...do something...? What did you try to do dad?" My dad got up while rubbing his head.

"I tried to seal Dil's powers away...but I see that I'm too late." My mouth dropped open and I probably had a WTF face. My dad glared at me while still rubbing his head. "Don't give me that look! I warned you that if you got in anymore danger because of it I was going to seal it away...but its too late for that now."

I closed my mouth as Ben walked up and said. "Not that I want Dil's powers sealed away but I'm curious why it's too late."

My dad went to the kitchen before he spoke. He had went to the fridge and got out one of the ice-packs we kept in case of emergency. (Hey, when you have two clumsy furs under one roof you tend to keep first aid stuff within reaching distance!) and put it on his head as he explained. "Now that his powers have awaken completely I don't have enough power to seal them since his powers have surpassed mine. I should have seen that coming years ago but how could I have predicted that Dil would awaken his powers on his own without anyone to show him?... Ow I really got to stop landing on my head..."

"Hey dad quick question...I remember during the whole Shadow and Reaper when I was five that you couldn't see nor hear ghosts or Reapers but now you can see and hear us now...why is that?"

"After the incident, I unlocked my sensory powers to stop further misunderstandings between us whether it was to see danger that comes from the spiritual plane or to stop a certain kitten after he played the whole 'the ghost did it' thing to escape trouble....anyway my sensory powers aren't as good as yours Dil, but I can see and hear you guys clearly and it's nearly impossible for me to be snuck up on."

I nodded my head in understanding just as Ben said "Excuse me Father Patterson sir; don't mind me asking but what exactly are you and Dil? Hope says you sure as hell are not Reapers."

My dad glared at Ben, apparently not taking well to his language. "I may swear but since I'm an adult I'm allowed to in my own home but I will not hear mere children swear...anyway to answer your question-"

CRASH! SHATTER! CRASH! SHATTER!

Suddenly three snow leopard Shadows crashed through two windows in the living room. Two were in front of us and another was blocking our escape route. "Hey Dil, I think I found those snow leopard Shadows you were talking about earlier...At least we were already changed before they got here!" said Ben as he got into a battle ready posture.

"Really!? Now? Damn it we just fought these guys a few hours ago! Speaking of which... why am I not tired? I should be exhausted! Why aren't I?" Ben just shrugged before he answered my question.

"If your powers are anything like mine, I guess after a bit of rest you are able to recover your energy...but I wonder why they would attack us now?"

"They were probably drawn to your souls...must have been too tasty for them to resist...but can we talk about this after we fight these guys?" Dad said as he grabbed a nearby chair to use as a weapon. I don't think that would do much against these things but I didn't say anything. A few minutes later the Shadows quickly started their attack!

-Meanwhile unbeknownst to Dil, Ben and Alexander, their fight with the Shadows were being watched by a figure in a blood red cloak standing outside, completely invisible to any form of magical detection. The only one who was looking right at the window at the time could spot a slight shimmer-

*??? POV*

'I gotta remember to thank Garret and Elwyn for teaching me how to hide my presence because these dipshits don't see nor feel me at all!' Thought the figure as it watched its minions attack the three furs inside the house. The Figure had been watching all of this for almost an hour, bored out of it's mind...the figure hated doing reconnaissance! It was so boring!

So when the two decided to activate their powers for no reason, the figure decided to hell with the mission and let its minions liven up the situation. It knew it could deceive all of them with just a random batch of shadows attacking some very tasty souls to which they fell for hook line and sinker.

'Now I just got to sit back and watch the fireworks-' Ben, (If he heard the panther's right...) launched a wind blast to launch the two Shadows in front of the trio back a few feet and into a book shelf and the wall and the other that was behind the trio crashed into a nearby coat closet. While it didn't affect the figure at all besides make its blood red cloak tussle in the wind.

'What a pathetic wind blast! Garret makes bigger wind-blasts from just farting! Fucking pathetic...Wait a second...that's the one that can summon shields at will! So why didn't he just use--come to think of it...' The figure thought as it took another look at the battle field. 'Where are the two panthers at anyway?' It's question wasn't answered until something moving like a blur even to it's eyes stopped right next to the wolf revealing 'Dil' the young panther with the bow but with a quick glance at the battlefield the figure still didn't see the elder panther but it did see the chair the elder panther was using as a weapon on the floor.

'Oh I see now...Ben couldn't summon a shield because if he did then Dil wouldn't have been able to pick up the elder panther and carry him somewhere safe quickly without getting attacked...nice use of distraction tactics, speed and teamwork...huh I didn't even notice the two conspiring the attack so either the two have telepathy or they know each other so well that they can fight as if they are on the same wavelength...maybe these two aren't complete dipshits after all.'

During the figures inner monologue with itself, the Shadow in the coat closet finally recovered from the wind blast and attacked Ben by throwing one of its Kusarigama at Ben's back while the duo's attention was on the two Shadows that were also recovering from hitting the wall. The blow landed and the Kusarigama imbedded itself somewhat deep in Ben's back. Ben yelped in pain while trying to remove the weapon from his back but Ben's only reward was a bad cut on the palm of his hand from the blade.

This only seemed to frustrate and piss Ben off enough to the point where he couldn't think clearly as he began to run around in circles, reaching for the weapon imbedded in his back like some twisted version game of a puppy chasing its own tail.

This went on until Ben tumbled on the floor when he tripped over the chain that was being wrapped tightly around his body as he ran with a somewhat dizzy look to his face. This of course, was extremely funny to the figure in the window. The figure was laughing so hard it nearly rolled on the floor laughing. 'I guess I spoke too soon.' The figure thought as it tried unsuccessfully to stop it's laughter that luckily went unheard by the sounds of the battle.

The figure finally pulled its head back into the window just in time to see a ball of blue light hit the Shadow that was about to hit Ben with a finishing blow. The shot appeared to stagger the Shadow enough, so Dil suddenly appeared out of nowhere to Sparta kick the thing so hard it was sent back into the coat closet with the door slamming behind it. Dil pulled Ben to his feet with one hand and pulled the blade from out of Ben's back with the other as the chain fell to the floor. The figure heard Ben mumble a thanks as he picked up his sword while Dil raised an eyebrow and said. "Aren't you supposed to be the one saving me Mr. Reaper?"

"Shut the fuck up and pay attention!" Ben said while a shield suddenly appeared around the pair as four Kusarigama blades bounced harmlessly off the shield. At that moment, there was a 'Boom' as the Shadow in the coat closet slammed so hard into the door that it was destroyed in a shower of splinters. All three Shadows picked up/pulled their weapons back up and charged at the pair in a speed that rivaled Dil's.

Ben barley raised his sword over his head fast enough to block both of the Shadows blows while Dil resorted to dodging the Shadow that attacked him in a flurry of attacks, each blow barley missing cutting him into ribbons.

"This is ridiculous! All we can do is defend and dodge!" Ben said while trying unsuccessfully to push the Shadows away.

The figure in the window yawned and thought 'This is getting boring...they could at least try and put up a fight. It's way more fun to watch when my prey actually put up a decent fight.'

Dil replied, pausing after every word or so to dodge an attack, "Yeah I agree but what else can we do?! These things attack way too fast and counterattaaaaa Omf!" until he tripped over his own paws and landed hard on his butt which gave the Shadow enough time to get ready for a killing blow.

"DIL!" Ben shouted while sparta kicking one of the Shadows away from him, only to dodge a spear of ice that was thrown by the other Shadow that got blasted back with a wind blast a few seconds earlier. Dil took a moment to look desperately for an escape route but not finding one since he was backed against a wall with not enough room to roll away. When Dil saw his dire situation he raised his arms and braced himself for the blow.

But the blow never came thanks to a chair that crashed into the Shadow, followed by a well-placed kick from the old panther which sent the Shadow down the door leading to the basement. Dil quickly got up and said "Dad what are-"

"Saving your ass that's what! Do you really think I didn't know the secret to bust out of those cuffs you put me in? Enough of that for now and listen!" The panther said as he grappled one of the Shadows attacking from behind "We need to even the playing field and send these guys into a bigger battlefield before we destroy my house!" He exclaimed between grunts, trying to fend off the Shadow as he could.

"HOW?" Dil and Ben shouted as they took the advantage of the fact the Shadows were still surprised with the mans sudden appearance. Ben used his wind magic to suddenly appear in front of one of the Shadows and unleashed a flurry of blows with his sword while Dil stayed next to the other panther unleashing arrow after arrow at the other Shadow who after getting hit by a few summoned up an ice-wall to block the rest. It wasn't holding up well though as holes and cracks were already beginning to form after six or so shots.

"Easy! Just follow my words to the letter-" The panther yelled then paused as he disarmed the Shadow of its weapon and slamming it to the floor while he began to slash the Shadow with its own weapon.

"Dil, use the cuff to pin this one to the floor while you use your light blast to keep the other one busy!" Dil dismissed his bow and did what he said (Though Dil missed a lot of shots because he was doing two things at once but all he needed to do was keep the Shadow behind the ice wall from moving to attack and he was successful...) when Dil was done with his job he re-summoned his bow and continued his assault on the Shadow, finally busting through the ice wall after a couple of arrows and started to pelt the Shadow who was by now screaming in pain but charged again. But Dil kept himself just out of the Shadows reach by zooming around the house while still pelting the Shadow with his arrows every now and then.

"Now Ben, blow the Shadow you're fighting out the window using wind magic but instead doing it in a 360 degree wave like you've been doing focus the air into a ball and send it out of your hand which should-" Ben built a shield around the Shadow he was fighting while he listened to Alex and focused all of his wind magic into his palm while still trying to keep the shield up that by now the Shadow was bashing against, causing a few cracks along the surface but still held. The effort of keeping up the shield and trying something new caused Ben to pant heavily, sweat profusely and make him a bit wobbly on his feet but his efforts were rewarded by a constantly shifting blob of air and once it looked like the blob wasn't going to dissipate Ben lowered the shield and hit the Shadow with the blob of air which sent it flying through the window that the figure was watching the fight, who quickly managed to dodge the minion and was sent at least 15-20 feet back.

"-send your enemy about as twice as far back than your normal blast of air...damn Ben nice home-run...anyway use a strong attack to finish off the one I weakened for ya" Finished the old man as he got off the Shadow he was waylaying on even while he talked to Dil and Ben. He quickly backed away into a safe distance as Ben's sword was being coated with fire as he approached, giggling as he did so as he said.

"I hope you're the one who scored that hit on me earlier...if you are...I'm going to enjoy this!" Ben raised his sword up into the air and yelled "FLAME BLITZ!" then he swung with all his might at the Shadow that was still struggling to break free of his bounds but as soon as Ben made contact, the floor boards cracked loudly and a dust cloud surrounded Ben, which was blown away by a sudden gust of air to reveal a destroyed Shadow. A slash matching the size of Ben's sword with a few singed floorboards and a coughing Ben who vigorously rubbed his eyes to clear them of the dust and dirt hidden underneath the floorboards.

"Remind me to never to that again indoors..." Ben said as he picked up the sword that he dropped to clear his eyes while the old man dropped to the floor, gasped and yelled.

"MY FLOOR! Oh the Reapers better still fix the messes the Shadows make or I am going to be pissed!" Just then, Dil returned from wherever he was at while these events were going on with a battered, bruised and bleeding but definitely alive Shadow still on his heels.

"WORRY ABOUT YOUR DAMN FLOOR LATER AND HELP ME!" Dil shouted as he ran around in a circle around the pair Shadow now gaining enough to land a glancing blow on his back.

Ben concentrated for a second before another blob appeared in his palm and then charged at Dil while yelling "DUCK!" which Dil screamed but did as he was told thus causing the blob to hit the Shadow chasing him and into the other Shadow who was just now climbing back through the window which caused both of them to be sent about 10 feet out the window.

"Time to finish this!" Ben said while grabbing his sword and quickly jumped out the same window the figure was watching from. The figure was still recovering from nearly being sent flying with his own minions and it didn't know Ben was coming out the window until Ben was already out of it. For a brief second the figure was too surprised to do anything but then remembered it's training and rolled to his left but not quick enough to avoid having it's paw crushed beneath Ben's foot. The figure tried to choke back it's gasp of pain but was unsuccessful to choke it back completely causing a slight gasp to escape.

Judging by Ben's sudden flicker of ear movement and stiffness, it was heard and he stopped and looked around while the figure was calling Ben every curse word he knew while the figure resisted the urge to reveal itself and summon it's scythe and return it's pain to the wolf tenfold.

Eventually Ben didn't notice anything around the area except the Shadows that had since gotten up. The wolf quickly noticed he seemed to be standing on something and stepped off the figure's paw much to the relief of the figure and noticed the rock that was trapped underneath his foot. Ben then shrugged and said "Must have been the wind" and stepped a few paces away as the figure nursed his paw while swearing horrible revenge on Ben in the future.

"What about the wind?" Questioned Dil as he stepped through the window as well landing right next to the figure.

"Nothing, don't worry about it...now where were we?" Ben said while drawing his sword and getting into his standard attack position.

"I think we were about to do a final charge now that the Shadows are nearly destroyed...speaking of them did you notice how fragile they are after we started to hit them? The other ones you and I fought before were way more durable" Dil said with an amused look on his face.

Shadows 8 feet away

"Must have swapped defense for speed and power...wait you have a bow! Why are you charging?" Questioned Ben as he covered his sword in fire.

Shadows 6 feet away

"I can do more than launch arrows you know and I'm charging because if I don't then what's stopping the other one from jumping on you as well since you're closer? Plus," Dil said while grinning, despite the twos situation and summoning two large orbs of light before he put them into an orb about the size of a beach ball which looked more than enough to finish the job. "Isn't this how all the epic fighting scenes in the movies and video games end?"

The figure heard the eye roll in Ben's voice since he couldn't exactly see it from his position "You are such a dork and that is extremely dangerous not to mention unnecessary!" then the figure heard a small grin in Ben's voice "But you're right. Now let's end this and hit the hay...it's been a VERY long day!"

"Agreed now CHARGE!" Replied Dil as both of them broke into a run, sprinting the remaining three feet at the roaring and bloodthirsty Shadows. About two feet away Dil released his stored shot at the Shadow he was attacking and Ben moved with the wind to suddenly appear above the Shadow he was attacking. Both were yelling there attacks name at the same time.

"Flame Blitz!"

"Tir Sacré!"

Dil's attack landed first and it vaporized the Shadow instantly before it knew what hit it. Ben's attack landed a split second later and sliced the Shadow in two while making a sizable dent and a few scorch marks in the edge of the road the pair were standing on. The two smiled at the small distance from each other and met paws in a high five while shouting triumphantly, "WE DID IT!" before their eyes rolled into the back of their heads as they passed out and reverted to their normal selves before they even hit the ground. Neither of them or Alex, who was now walking out of the house to pick up and carry the boys inside noticed the figure walking into a dark portal.