Chapter Three - The Initiative

A year had passed quickly, faster than Hikaru thought it would be. She realized now that she had been living in Zokujin for almost five years. However, throughout this last year, she practiced fighting with her sword, which was unbelievably powerful. Magic, which was scarce in Zokujin, could even be cast from the blade. She hadn�t seen anyone she knew in almost the whole year. She liked it that way though; she focused on remembering her past, and practicing for the upcoming battle.

Senpaku on Second Earth is basically a dump. The raunchy city is covered in filth, criminals, and the poor struggling to survive. Death was also common.

Hikaru was climbing slowly on the side of a rocky cliff just after dawn, right in front of the entrance to Senpaku. She watched her step carefully as she made it to the end. She stared out into the distance, her fur blowing in the wind. She closed her eyes and listened to the murmurs of the daylight breeze.

A faint scraping sound made her ear twitch. She looked down to the ground and spotted Cassandra in her dragon form with an unfamiliar bionic man. Hikaru squinted as the sun rose and blinded her, but she could still watch as the cyborg thrashed waist-high black creatures away with his razor-sharp bionic fingers, sending them flying through the air. Although Hikaru was so high up on the cliff, she could still see two shark-like teeth protruding out of the black creatures� mouths. She flinched as the cyborg got bitten on an unprotected part of his body. Cassandra helped the cyborg fight the rest of the creatures off, but soon the cyborg collapsed.

Cassandra was swift to react. She gathered up energy and created a shield around her large violet body. The creatures tried to attack her but they bounced off of her translucent guard. She then picked up the cyborg carefully, trying to avoid pinching him with her claws. The dragon then flew off with her friend, carrying him away from the area.

Hikaru was utterly confused as she shook her head high above the battle area in safety. �What the hell is going on?�

The wolf spread her own wings and followed Cassandra into Senpaku, keeping a good distance away from her so she wouldn�t see her just yet. As the dragon reached an exceptionally clean-looking hospital, a pudgy man in a security uniform stopped her from entering.

�I�m sorry, miss, but we do not allow Spliced in here unless they can change into their human appearance, or they know someone who is a patient here,� the man half-smiled at the dragon, hoping she would change her appearance. He was not in the mood to be humiliated in front of the hospital inhabitants, while talked to by a dragon.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and the familiar violet aura surrounded her body. Even in her human form, she still had incredible muscles to carry the cyborg. She handled him delicately as she walked into the hospital door.

�Wait, miss! The wounded man� he�s not a human either!� cried the man. Cassandra pretended not to hear him and waltzed right on in. Fortunately, the man was too lazy to follow them.

Hikaru had watched the conversation from a nearby tree, and decided that she needed to create a diversion to make the man leave. She released a low growl from the back of her throat, causing the man to jump in fear and run towards her to find out what was there. She immediately flew onto a high branch, and looking below, she saw the man search for her. She swiftly flew from the branch onto the ground in front of the door, and ran in undetected.

As the door slammed, a few people in the lobby looked up from their reading material and stared at the unusual creature. Some people seemed clean, but most were grimy like most of Senpaku, and their eyes frightened Hikaru. So, she walked through every hallway on the first floor, looking through every window to try to locate her friend. At last, she found the room where Cassandra was. She peeked through the window for a bit, then decided to sit on the bench next to the door.

Minutes passed, and soon Cassandra suddenly walked out the door. She crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to recollect her thoughts. Unfolding her arms, and opening her eyes, she sensed eyes on her, and she turned to her left.

Cassandra�s blue eyes widened, and she smiled in delight. �Hikaru�? Hikaru!� She ran to the wolf and hugged her tightly. �I�m so happy to see you again! It�s been so long!�

Hikaru was thunderstruck. �A hug�I can�t believe it. It�s been way too long since someone cared so much about me that they�d�hug me.� She pushed the thought aside and hugged Cassandra back.

Cassandra released her and looked at her with a puzzled face. �What are you doing here? You don�t look sick or anything.�

Hikaru shook her head. �No, I saw you and that cyborg man fighting from above you on cliff. I thought I�d see how you were doing.�

�Aww, thanks, Hikki,� she patted the wolf�s head.

Hikaru�s face softened. �So�what happened? What were those things that attacked him?�

Cassandra motioned for Hikaru to follow her into the hospital room. Inside, the cyborg was lying on a comfortable bed, and a nurse was treating his wounds.

Hikaru stared in sympathy. �Poor thing��

�Hikaru, this is Raistlin. He�s going to help us fight Loki too. Loki is a powerful god who tried to kill her a long time ago. He wanted her soul to be buried in the ground so that he himself would take her place as the most wanted criminal in Zokujin. Those creatures back there�� Cassandra sighed. �Those were Loki�s spawn. He sends them to kill us sometimes instead of him showing his own damn face to us. He stupidly thinks it would be faster that way.� She looked at Raistlin with heavily concerned eyes. �Raistlin never gives up, though.�

Hikaru nodded and looked over to Cassandra. She was gazing at Raistlin, unconscious on his bed. There was no doubt that she cared about him immensely. The wolf would give anything for someone to look at her that way again.

Hikaru fixed her gaze on the nurse. �Is�is he going to be okay, ma�am?�

The nurse looked up from writing notes on her clipboard and smiled at Hikaru. �Don�t worry, honey, he�ll be just fine.�

Hikaru nodded and noticed Raistlin was awake and staring at her. He then turned his head towards Cassandra. �So, who is going to the battle?� he had a deep, raspy voice.

Cassandra�s eyes lit up as Raistlin talked, relieved that he was all right. �Well,� her voice came out as a whisper, for she did not want the nurse to hear her. �Kaiken is not going because she has other business to attend to. She tried to explain to us about how he wouldn�t come out from hiding just yet, and that whatever we encounter would just be more spawn.� She stopped as she heard a muffled moan from Raistlin. She tried to hold back a laugh. �But Silvara, Demonu, myself, you�� she looked at the wolf next to her. �And an old friend,� she grinned brightly at Hikaru. �Raistlin, this is Hikaru Tosam.�

Raistlin softly closed his eyes and nodded at the wolf. �Nice to meet you.�

The nurse took a few more hours to finish bandaging Raistlin�s wounds, and giving him medicine. The cyborg slowly sat up from the bed and took a deep breath.

The nurse patted Raistlin�s shoulder gently. �You�re all set!� she beamed. �Have a great afternoon! And try not to get too friendly with those tigers at the Moyai zoo again, do you hear me?!�

Hikaru looked at Cassandra confused. Trying not to burst out in laughter, Cassandra grabbed Raistlin�s hand and led him and Hikaru out the door. �Thank you so much!� she called to the nurse as they ran.

� � �

Hikaru, Cassandra, and Raistlin were walking on the skyscraper rooftops of Senpaku. It was around ten o� clock, and they were chatting about the upcoming battle, and also what things Cassandra had been up to in the past year. Cassandra was already changed into her dragon form, and Hikaru found it quite amusing when she laughed because her jaw was so big.

�Well, I had no other excuses in mind!� complained Cassandra as she explained why the nurse had said that before they left the hospital. �When they asked me what happened when I came in with Raistlin, I just thought up that story and well, I don�t know!� she giggled. �I wasn�t going to tell her that we were fighting a god�s spawn and that we were waiting for him to come later so we can kill him tonight!�

Soon they reached a skyscraper with some familiar acquaintances huddling together. Through the fog, Hikaru could see the faint features of delicate-faced Silvara, and handsome Demonu. They could not yet see them through the haze as they approached.

�I hate this!� cried Silvara. She was shivering from the cold and the wind. �Why do we have to do this at night when it�s so damn cold?!�

Demonu put his arms around Silvara, trying to make her stay warmer.

Silvara put a hand to his and smiled at him. �Thanks,� as she was turning around to kiss him, she caught a glimpse of Hikaru through the fog. �You again! I thought you would�ve backed out of this!�

Demonu released Silvara and went over to pat Hikaru�s head. �Hey, Hikki, glad you could make it.�

Silvara pouted and tried to control her anger by clenching her fists.

Demonu turned to Raistlin and a sympathetic look washed over his face as he saw his bandages. �What happened, Raistlin?�

Raistlin looked away and was silent for a moment. �Just more spawn,� he replied in his raspy voice. He said �spawn� in a disgusted tone.

Cassandra was pacing back and forth. Hikaru was afraid she�d smack her with her large tail as it whipped everywhere. �I sure hope Loki shows up tonight. I need to show him a piece of my mind.�

Hikaru decided it was time to summon her sword. Soon, it magically appeared in her paw. She tightened her paw around it.

Raistlin�s eyes widened as he watched it come into sight. �Magic�� he said in amazement. �Where did you get that?�

Hikaru looked at Cassandra, undecided. She wasn�t sure if she should tell him.

Cassandra smiled. �Some masked man gave that to her a few years ago at that old temple in Shiken. I remember it perfectly, because that was when I met her.�

The memory subsided as Silvara suddenly shrieked and stepped back towards Demonu. She whisked out her knife in defense, and Demonu grabbed his lancet from his sheath on his back. It was another shadowy spawn, just like the ones that attacked Cassandra and Raistlin earlier that day. It seemed to just pop out of the tar roof and slink it�s way towards them. It was also really difficult to spot, because it blended in so well with the dark roof.

Demonu rushed ahead of Silvara and slashed at the creature. Now there were two spawns.

Cassandra gasped and glanced at Raistlin. �That didn�t happen with the ones we fought before!� she ran ahead, near to where Demonu stood with his guard up, and reached back to rip one apart with her claws.

�No, wait, Cassandra!� Demonu yelled and Cassanadra froze her arm. �It�s multiplying. Loki is sending us these different spawn to keep us busy� very busy. Don�t touch it or you�ll just make more!�

Silvara eyed the two creatures slinking along the rooftop, leaving trails of a soft gray liquid on the jet black tar. This was one of the only ways to tell where they were, and there was also noticing their bright eyes and teeth. Silvara pointed at them and jumped up and down. �Then how are we going to get rid of them, pray tell?�

Raistlin shot a look over to Hikaru�s sword. �Magic. We�ll use the wolf�s sword!�

Silvara, Demonu, and Cassandra turned their attention to Hikaru and waited. Would she do it? Would the sword destroy the creatures?

Hesitantly, Hikaru nodded at them. �All right, let�s see if this works.� The wolf walked over to the two creatures and closed her eyes, with her sword held out in front of her. She concentrated hard, and soon felt power rush up and down through her veins. Adrenaline overpowered her body, making her feel extremely strong. Light protruded from the blade and when it was charged, she swung at the creatures.

She smashed both of the creatures in one slice, and instead of multiplying, they vanished into thin air. As they were hit, light poured out from their bodies, blinding the watchful group. After the light subsided, they stared at nothing.

Everyone�s heads turned to Hikaru in awe. Raistlin quietly chuckled softly, interrupting the silence, anda walked over to her. �That�s some sword, Hikaru. You better hold onto that,� he pat her head.

The wolf nodded, embarrassed.

� � �

There was no sign of Loki at all that night, except for the spawn Hikaru annihilated. The group decided to leave from the roofs of the skyscrapers, and walked to a fairly clean park in downtown Senpaku. Cassandra and Raistlin sat down in a bench while Hikaru sat on the ground in front of them. Silvara and Demonu took a walk around the park, disappearing into the night.

Cassandra was in her human form now, and she twirled a few strands of her curly hair around her finger. �Hikaru.�

The wolf�s ears perked up.

�Why can�t you change into a human like all the other Spliced?� Cassandra cocked her head, very intrigued.

The question was so sudden that Hikaru shot a quick look up at Cassandra. Cassandra jumped a bit, and ashamed, Hikaru�s eyes peered to the ground. �I�d rather not say��

Raistlin stared at the wolf. �I can tell by the way that you�re avoiding us that you have a very interesting past, hmm?�

The wolf looked at him and nodded a little. �I guess you could say that.�

�But, it�s been so long,� said Cassandra. �It�s been almost five years and I never have seen you in a human form. I always wanted to know why.�

Hikaru sighed. �I wish I could tell you. Long story short, I have a spell cast on me. I don�t know how I can get rid of it. And there�s this friend of mine��

Hikaru stopped and noticed Raistlin had closed his eyes. She looked at him with a confused face.

Cassandra was anxious. �Uh-huh, a friend of yours�?�

Hikaru snapped back to reality. �Yes, I�ve been waiting for him here in Zokujin. I figured he�d come and find me here. So far I�ve had�no luck.� She closed her eyes and shook her head. Talking about Cloud with other people made her uncomfortable.

Raistlin opened his eyes finally, and looked at Hikaru. �Is he�is he smiling?�

�The person you�re looking for,� said Raistlin. �He�s in Zokujin.�

Hikaru jumped. �What?!�How�do you know that?�

Cassandra�s eyebrows lifted in amazement. �Well, he is bionic. He knows pretty much everything about someone without even knowing very much about them.�

�Also,� Raistlin noted. �To break your spell, you must find true love. I�m certain that whoever put the spell on you, figured that you would never find it as a wolf.�

Hikaru stared at Raistlin in awe. Cassandra laughed. �So who is this guy?�

Hikaru had blocked out Cassandra�s voice and focused on Raistlin�s knowledge. �I don�t know where to find him, though.�

Raistlin shrugged. �Just follow your heart.� He slowly raised his right hand to the sky, and looked up.

Hikaru turned around, and her and Cassandra looked up with Raistlin. They watched as a shooting star floated high in the deep blue skies. No matter how late it was, Hikaru knew she would have enough time to catch up with Cloud. The star did something to Hikaru. She felt as if her sword�s power was rushing through her again. The star gave her a vast amount of hope, and she lifted herself off the ground.

She looked at Raistlin. �Thank you,� a tear formed in her eye, as she looked to Cassandra too. �Both of you.� The wolf started to walk towards the direction at which the star fell.

�Wait, what?!� cried Cassandra as she got up from the bench. She ran to Hikaru. �Raistlin and I, we can go with you!�

Hikaru sighed and turned around. She looked to the ground �No. I have to do this on my own,� she looked up at Cassandra, who was now sobbing. �Thank you for being my friend when I thought no one would want to be, Cassandra. I�ll miss you.�

Cassandra bent down and squeezed Hikaru tightly. �But where are you going?�

Hikaru breathed in the fantastic scent of Cassandra�s hair, and thought. She wasn�t absolutely sure of where she was going, but the shooting star was going to help her find out. �I�m just doing what Raistlin told me to do,� Hikaru said as she was released from Cassandra�s grasp. �Following my heart.�

The wolf spread her sparkling violet wings, and flew off into the distance.