Charm 2023 - Post 2

“Who are you and what the hell’s going on?” I asked, then ducked under a cold stone bridge, my eyes darting between the mottled greens and browns of the ravine’s walls. 

Clumps of moss lined the underside of the bridge, while vines spilled from sideways-leaning trees. A river of sludge snaked through the ravine ahead of us, carrying a distinct metallic scent. 

“You got our messages, yes?” the woman said in a hushed voice, glancing back from time to time. 

“Messages?” I halted listening as the river gurgled between rocks and splashed as something moved through it. The wind whistled above us. “Sorry, what messages?”

Destiny turned, confusion taking over. “If you didn’t get the messages, then why are you here?”

Uneasy at the thought of giving away too much, I hesitated before responding. “I’m not sure I can say…” 

“This doesn’t make any sense. We’ve been trying to reach your people for so long, and then you show up, but…” An explosion sounded, causing her to cringe and then motion for me to hurry. “We’ll discuss when we get there.”

“When we get where?”

“The lookout, so I can show you the enemy base.”

Exactly what I was looking for, in theory. That is, if this woman’s enemy was the same as the enemy of the Citadel. For all she knew, Destiny could be aligned with the Supreme Leader. 

I followed, but not without caution.

“Keep it down until we’re out of range,” Destiny whispered, motioning up. 

Whatever she was motioning to was beyond my comprehension, but I obliged. Considering all of the supers and aliens with super-like powers I had come across in my time, I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn there were beings up there with super hearing or other related skills. Just as likely, tech that would accomplish the same feat. 

As we went in silence, only the dim orange glow from a hunter’s moon providing light in the ravine, I had the chance to get a bit of a look at Destiny. The fox mask hid her eyes, leaving only a single slit over her mouth, leaving room for me to see her lush lips. Her dark eyes glimmered in the light, giving her an otherworldly appearance. She carried a sword on one hip, its hilt crafted from polished wood and gleaming silver, and a pistol on the other, the barrel shiny and well-maintained. She moved with grace and confidence, her every step telegraphing her skill with the weapons she carried.

Considering Destiny’s fox mask and the fact that the woman had mistaken me for someone her people had been trying to get in contact with, it was likely there was a connection between her and the Kitsune Planet. Not necessarily the Citadel, but at least gave me hope. After all, the Kitsune Planet was strongly aligned with the Citadel. It hadn’t always been, so there was the chance their connection had been pre-Citadel, but even then the Kitsune Planet had been on the side of good. 

I had been a tool in the fight to keep a powerful tool with potential for universal domination out of the hands of the Supreme Leader and his followers, even if I’d purposefully had that part of my memory wiped for some time. What better way to protect something than to completely forget about it?

Such thoughts brought me back to members of my team and a pang of guilt that I’d wandered off without them. Not that I doubted being able to handle whatever this world threw at me. I’d gone up against some of the universe’s worst by this point, and if I was being honest, I mostly enjoyed the sense of danger. 

Give me a challenge over boredom any day. 

Ahead, Destiny had come to a stop under the bridge, and I soon saw why. Several figures were on the bridge, one starting to turn our way. Lucky me, cloaking does wonders for not being seen. 

A gasp escaped Destiny’s mouth at seeing me vanish, and I instantly realized my mistake. While vanishing helped me stay undetected from those above, I hadn’t accounted for Destiny not knowing my abilities. I’d grown so used to my team and each of us operating as a unit, almost like we were of one mind. 

“Heard something—down there,” a voice said from above, and I had to act fast.

Darting up the side of the ravine I prepared to strike and closed in on them. Only, closing in on them I saw that they were dressed much like Destiny, complete with fox masks or ears, and one even had three metallic fox tails that glowed in lines along the middle of each. What the hell was going on? 

As one had leaned over the bridge with a rifle, I decided that there had to be a reason Destiny was sneaking away from these people so I took action. Killing them wouldn’t do me any good without knowing the situation. 

Instead, I reached the side of the bridge where my cham breath could reach them and breathed out a burst of purple that hit the first two. I ducked down and counted to two before the first punch hit. Purple being the breath that turned people against each other or, when I gave them commands, let me control them, the people I had just used it against were attacking each other. 

Only problem being that when I used my powers on others, they always had a slight effect on me. I put a hand up to keep Destiny back—as much as I had learned to control my powers and impulses, it was still best to avoid accidentally turning on her. 

Unfortunately, I misjudged when it was over. The fighting above had turned into a couple of screams and groans of agony, so I moved back to Destiny, ready to keep moving. 

I growled, bared my claws, and glared. Her eyes went wide beneath that mask, a hand moving for her sword, then pistol, as if she couldn’t make up her mind which would be better. Finally, she put her hands up, and I took a deep breath to find my calm. It worked.

“How—what?” She shook her head. “I mean, where’d you go?”

Not sure if I wanted to give away my secrets yet, I shrugged and said, “Figured we’d need some help evading them.”

“Yessss, but…” She gave the bridge a glance back, then shrugged. “There was a reason we wanted your people’s help, after all. I shouldn’t be surprised.”

She darted off again before I could ask more. Quickly following, a gentle wind She darted off again before I could ask more. Quickly following, a gentle wind flew through my tails, bringing with it the scent of fresh soil and a sweetness that likely came from the violet flowers growing from walls of vines along nearby stones.

Destiny vanished around a bend, and when I came around it she was already at the peak, motioning me up.

“There,” she said, “the enemy who have held us down for so long.”