The dog wakes up to the empty room

    The dog wakes up to the empty room. Rising, he walks down to the inn's main room. Grabbing some breakfast, he walks out onto the main street. "Now, I need to find the library, there should be some of the background information I need there." Blue starts out towards the library. As he is walking, he hears something above him. Looking up, he sees several planes in the air. The lead plane is an old cargo plane. Its being followed by several fighters that appear to be shooting at it. The dog takes off running through alleys and side streets as he follows the chase. He looks up hard at the cargo plane's markings as it goes behind another building. "No, NO!" he shouts as he runs into another alley. The dog growls loudly as he sees some shots hit the wings. The plane rolls a little. He hisses loudly as more shots hit the old cargo plane. "This can't be happening! I am going to kill that bastard!" As he enters the alley, he realizes that it doesn't go all the way through. Just as he turns he hears and feels an huge explosion. Looking up, he sees the cargo plane in a ball of flames. "NOOOOO!" As he watches the plane go down, he feels something hit him in the back, knocking him down. He rolls up into a fighting stance looking at the cloaked figure that hit him. He growls loudly as he launches at the figure, kicking out. The figure grunts and crumples to the ground as various bones break. The dog smiles broadly at his handy work. The smile doesn't last long, however, as more and more creatures surround him. The dog strikes out at the closest figure, hitting the creatures gun arm. The figure grunts loudly as the gun clatters to the ground, he tries to swing his other paw at the dog. Blue grabs the arm, hitting at the elbow
from the outside, hearing a satisfying crunch. The dog grunts as a shot grazes him. He whirls on the figure, tossing a mini-sun at it, blinding the whole group on that side. "You didn't come prepared this time!" the dog yells out at them. Ignoring those he blinded, the dog pounces on another preparing to fire at him. His claws rake the face of the weasel through the cloak. Blue then picks the weasel up and tosses him into another group of the weasels. The dog pounces over to that group, clawing deep, painful gashes in the first one he meets. Blue doesn't notice as a figure in the back of the group tosses a net. As several weasels fire shots at the dog, the net
decends over him. He tries to dodge the shots, grunting as some hit him, as he bocomes entangled in the net. The dog struggles already starting to rip the net as he feels something jab into his back. Snarling loudly, he rips through the rest of the net in an animalistic rage. He doesn't feel any of the damage the weasels cause him as his view becomes dimmed by a red haze. He dives toward the closest group of weasels and begins to violently claw and bite as his rage overtakes him.
    Slowly the dog returns to reality as the haze dims from his vision. He finds himself still holding a bleeding weasel, the throat torn out. He lets it fall and looks around. The alley is lines with dead weasels, many damaged beyond recognition as such. He looks down at himself, amazed at what he can only assume he did, then notices his normally blue fur is covered with blood, and he soon realizes that far too much of it is his! Suddenly pain overwhelms him and he loses conciousness as he begins to feel the multitude of injuries covering his body.
**********************
Blue moans on the bed as he smells some coffee..the injuries still appearent. He writhes and opens his eyes up. "Where am I?"
   "You're safe," a voice answered him. "but you're hurt, do you have any of those potions left?"
   Blue groans as he recognizes the voice of his friend, "In the box." Napalm goes and finds the box at the foot of the dog's bed. After a short search he pulls out the proper vial. Uncorking it he holds it to the dog's muzzle. Blue drinks down the contents with a sigh.
   Napalm sits down on the side of the dog's bed. "How bad are you?"
   "I'll mend...is that some of your death coffee?" Blue groans as the wounds start to knit.
   Napalm breaks into a short smile. "Sure is, think you can handle a cup?"
   "Give me a min or two."
   "It'll take me that long to make it drinkable."
   "Put sugar in it."
   Napalm stands and begins preparing two cups of coffee, extra sugar in both. "But of course."
   Blue winces as he sits up in the bed. "What happend..last thing I remember was the alley and my brother." Napalm turns to the dog with a slightly worried expression. Blue hoppes out of bed painfully and starts to walk out the door.
   "Hold on!" The wolf grabs the dogs arm. "You sure you're strong enough yet, give it a minute.
   The dog sits back on the bed. "Nope not yet....coffee?"
   Napalm hands the dog his cup. "Alright, let me fill you in on what I know."
   Blue downs it. "Okay, but we will be leaving in a few, I can feel the potion working as good as usual."
   "I was flying back early this morning and caught sight of the large cargo plane in the distance as it exploded." Blue stands up, flexing a little. "I was about to go check it out but my flight path took me over the alley where I found you." Napalm looks at the dog. "I knew you could fight, but..."
   "Did you see where it went down?" the dog asked.
   "Yeah, not too far away." Napalm starts for the door.
   Blue walks out the door walking to the street. "You can finish telling me when we are outside." Napalm nods as he rounds a corner before grabbing the dog and taking flight. "Alright, what did you see in the alley."
   Napalm heads toward the crash site. "Well, I seen one bloody and injured dog as well as about 30 or 35 weasels, who were even worse off..."
   "30?!?"
   "Or more, 30 that I'm sure of but there seemed to be more."
   "All I remember is fighting a couple then having a net thrown on me, a shot, and then everything turned red; and then I woke up in the room."
   "Yeah, I don't know what you did...but you REALLY tore those weasels up, it was hard to tell what race most of them were." Blue whimpers. "You ok?"
   "I don't like killing that much. I mean they were weasels of the Den."
   "We're almost there."
   "It's not like I hate weasels just those of the Den."
   Napalm decents into an empty alley way hidden from the crash scene. "I know, but you did defeat at least 30 of them, something I wouldn't have put good odds on you being able to do."
   The dog looks over at the crash site. "I should be able to get us past the police line."
   "You've been doing good in that area so far." Blue walks over to the police line. Napalm lets the dog lead, walking slightly behind and to the right, arms crossed. Blue starts to go under the lines.
   "Hold on there!" a Police officer yells as he runs over to the dog. "Can't you see the police line? This is off limits."
   "My name is Blue Heeler SunFire." the dog starts. "This plane is one of my brothers. "You must let me see the wreckage."
   "Ahh, ok, good, maybe you can help us." the officer states, then puts an arm out and continues, "Sorry, can't do that, it'll break the evidence chain."
   "I don't care about that, I need to see who was in the plane."
   The officer motions for the dog to follow him to a quiter corner. The dog and wolf follow the canine officer over. "There wasn't anyone, they got out first. We haven't determined who the pilot was yet, or even the owner until you arrived. Anything else you can tell us?"
   "The owner is Falchion SunFire, his office is downtown." The officer signals a subordinant over and passes on the information with instructions to contact Falchion. "I need to see the wreckage I might be able to tell possitivly who did this."
   "Good, any idea who might have caused this?"
   "Yes, the Awardings." Blue spits on the ground at the name.
   The officer stares hard at the dog. "Don't guess you can back that up?"
   Blue snarls out, "Of course not you think that bastard would get his hands dirty. The fighters were unmarked."
   The officer nods, knowingly. "Damned Feds...yeah, that fits with the other witness reports. We'll give ol' Mr. Awardings a talking to anyway and see if anything points to him. Anything else you can think of that might speed things up?"
   "No, and since your not going to let me pass..I'll leave"
   "And I assure you, we aren't, any evidence we do get we're going to need. I'm not risking it."
   "Yea .. yea." Blue walks away. The officer nods to the dog then the wolf before returning to the wreckage. Blue sighs loudly.
   "You didn't really think they were going to let you in, did you?" the wolf states. "Most likely there isn't much there anyway.
   "No, I was hoping. But, the pilot got out. Did you see him?"
   "I was about 50 miles out when I saw the fireball. I didn't see him. Hmm...let me think here, I think I know about when he ejected though..."
   "Okay. you are a flier, which way would he have fell?"
   Napalm leans up against a stop sign, his eyes half close, and his brow furrows. He humms softly as his eyes begin to grow their original bright red, his concentration going into figuring the pilots path instead of keeping his disguise. The dog looks around to make sure they aren't being watched; however, all the attention is on the crash. Napalm suddenly jolts back to reality and points. "52 miles that way."
   "Really?" the dog questions.
   "Well, within about 50 feet... ready to go?" Blue grabs the back of the wolf. Napalm takes off and flies toward in the direction he indicated.
   Blue searches as they fly. "There! "Isn't that a parachute?"
   Napalm looks directly ahead and recognizes the parachute as it comes into view. "Sure is." Napalm glides down into the alley next to the parachute. Blue sniffs and walks around in a circle. Napalm picks up the parachute and looks around. "Well, where did he go?"
   "He went that way." Blue starts running in the direction he pointed too. Napalm raises his eyebrows then remembers he IS with a canine. Napalm follows quickly. Blue follows the trail for five blocks, then stops so suddenly that the wolf runs into him.
   "Ugh!" the wolf grunts as he hits the dog. Blue sniffs around.
   The wolf looks at the dog, questioning. "What?"
   "Oh, sorry." The wolf makes a motion with his paw indicating to ignore it. "The scent, it's just gone" Blue looks around, walking and sniffing.
   "You can't just stop a scent....do you think he was picked up? A car probably."
   "No, there are no car tracks."
   "None? There must be SOME."
   "NO," the dog snarls in frustration, "look yourself. There's none, there isn't even any garbage." He continues to look around. "Wait a sec." Blue starts walking around, searching. Napalm looks around a shrugs. "Look at how it's all pushed back in a circle."   Blue looks up in the air.
   Napalm starts putting things together, "An aircraft! Of course."
   Blue snarls, "Now we lost the trail."
   "Yeah...lets hope it wasnt the Awardings who got him..."
   "It was, you know it as well as I do. They are after my and they wi..." the dog collapses to the ground before he can finish the statment.
   "Unfortantely your probably...." the wolf quickly looks at the dog. "BLUE!" Napalm quickly kneals at the dogs side.
   Blue howls in pain, then pants as the pain leavs him. "What is happening to me." The dog howls in pain again.
   "I don't know...I don't know..." Napalm looks the dog over. "Nothing is wrong on the outside...I'd better get you back to bed." Napalm grabs the dog in his arms and takes off at his fastest possible speed
   Blue feels the pain stop, leaving a weird feeling. "Land now!"
   Napalm looks down at the dog then lands on a nearby roof. "You ok now?"
   "Yea, I think. It feels like a block has been removed."
   "A block? of what?"
   "I ....I don't know. I feel weird and strange."
   "What was it you said, something about a shot?"
   "Yea someone gave me a shot of something. What are they doing to me."
   "Yes, but what could they have don't to you, we looked over the files, we know they can't administer the control agents to you yet, now like that..."
   "It doesn't feel like that, as I said, it feels like a block has been removed."
   "A block...but of what? And if they unblocked some power, why make you stronger?"
   "I don't know, but I think we need to move." Blue points at the approaching objects. Napalm looks quickly where the dog indicates, nods and runs over to the edge of the building.
   "Come on!" The wolf grabs the dog. Napalm hops lightly off the roof and freefalls for several hundred feet before slowing to a feather landing on a near empty sidewalk. Blue looks around. Napalm points to a department store across the street. "We should be safe from prying eyes in there." Blue runs across the street and enters "Fur-Mart." Napalm follows before leading the way to the crafts section. The dog follows the wolf.
   "We need to find information." Napalm walks along the aisle, picking up and odd doll head and pretending to be interested it.
   "Yes we do, but where at?"
   "We should go talk to my brother. The police won't have reached there yet, they are too slow. But we need to go to the compound first. That's where they took that pilot. I'm sure my brother would want it."
   "I don't think thats exactly the best idea. He won't exactly welcome us with open arms."
   "I don't care, we need to get that pilot and talk to him."
   "And what makes you think we'll actually get to him?" Napalm puts down the doll head and looks at the dog. "Do you think the Awardings will let him live if they think we can free him?" Blue growls and punches the wall in frustration, leaving a dent.
   "Your right, of course."
   "It's not easy being me." Napalm smirks. Blue glares at the wolf, eyes flashing dangerously, which the wolf pretends not to notice. "Well, now we have a goal, your brothers place. You know the way I take it?" The dog growls a little as he nods. "Come on! We don't want the Fur-Mart employees seeing that." the wolf says as he indicates the dented wall. Napalm heads briskly but casually for the door. Blue follows the wolf out.
   "Yes of course I know the way." Thee dog starts off once they are outside.
   "Lead on." The dog walks briskly off. As he walks he realizes that he shouldn't be mad at the wolf. His friend has only been there to help. Blue turns to the wolf to appolgise.
   "I'm really sorry to be dumping all this anger on you. How was your visit?" Napalm jolts a bit. "You alright."
   "Oh! well, I'm afriad its not good news...."
   "Really, what's wrong?"
   "Well, all the phoenix have returned now...except one. The last one arrived over three days ago. She should have been back far before that..with a temper like hers I would have expected her to be there ahead of me even but....still no word from her."
   "Oh? That isn't good."
   "No, not good at all. We are almost certain something is keeper her from returning or even communicating. Whether she is dead, prisoner, or detained somehow we don't know, but we are very worried about it. If whatever it is can do this to her...the rest of us don't stand much chance either."
   "Maybe we will hear word of her as the WatchDogs have a lot of information. My brother might also have some word of her. He receives some information occasionally."
   "I doubt it..nothing this recent certainly. Few enough even know my race exists, much less have current information of them. And for your brother, it's again doubtful, but I suppose we can always hope."
   "But then you didn't know about your race for a while."
   "Yes, we're still not sure what happened then. Just that would be enough for worry, but with her missing on top of it."
   "Well, I will help you look, but I have to finish my own searches, and as I said, we might hear some stuff on the way. Oh here we are." The dog walks up the steps of the brownstone building. Napalm follows, assuming his normals potion, back and right of the dog, arms crossed. Blue walks in and gasps. "What the..."
   Napalm looks around the ransacked lobby, "I'm not sure..but it looks like they had some fight." Blue walks around, and starts to pick up some papers. Napalm moves over and pears behind the desk.
   "Blue?"
   "Huh?" The dog looks over at the wolf. Napalm motions the dog to look behind the desk. The dog walks over and looks over the desk. "Oh no."
   "They shot her up pretty bad. Whatever they were doing here they didn't come in peace."
   Blue hops over the desk. "Yea, she's dead. But look at how many laser shots."
   "Yes, they've apparently upgraded since our last encounter."
   "My brother." the dog states as he looks up. He runs off down the hall yelling ..."BRO"
   "Hey wait up!" The Wolf takes off after the dog. Blue runs in the office at the end of the hall.
   "Good, he's not here." Napalm arrives a shortly behind the dog.
   "Well, thats some good news." Blue starts picking up papers on the ground.
   "I will make them pay for this."
   "Yes...we both will..." Napalm hears voices back down the hall. "Looks like the cops finally got here, keep checking the papers. I'll stall them." The wolf walks quickly back down the hall way and rounds a corner. The dog picks up some old looking papers..glancing at them. From the far end of the hall Napalm's voice is heard in the start of a loud and friendly greeting. A greeting that is broken off by the sound of multiple laser blasts. The wolf comes flying around the corner at a great speed. "They aren't cops!" Blue turns around as without looking at the second sheet.
   "Who are they?"
   "Guess!"
   "Well, it ends here, I'm NOT letting them have another go at my bros office." Blue tosses a mini-sun out the door and runs out.
   "Agreed..." The wolf tries to say, but realizes the room is now empty. Napalm flies over the heads of the dog and the stunned troops catching a weasel in the throat with a burnign claw as he rounds the corner. Blue pounces on the first cloaked guard, punching him in the stomach. He follows with a punch to the head, knocking it back against the wall. Napalm drops down to the floor as multiple laser blasts impact the wall behind him. He holds the flat of his hand down the hall way and a round stream of pure heat lauches from it. He lauches down the halls as the sounds of the injured and dying weasels is heard. Blue snarls as he kicks out aginst another cloaked figure, hearing a crack in the legs. He grunts as he feels a shot hit him. Napalm yells loudly and the scorched body of a weasels flies from the hallway, impacting the wall. Blue grabs the gun of the weasel and flings him against the wall hard...leaving an impression. He turns back to the injured one, grabbing the neck and twising, as his vision turns red. Napalm appears shortly from around the corner dragging two canines behind him. Blue hears a noise and notices somthing on the wall, mistaking
it for a weasel, pounces on it. He gets halfway through it when his vision clears and realizes it was a security laser. Napalm drops one canine to the floor and slams the injured dog against the wall, holding him by the neck.
   "Ok, lets have some answers here my little friend." the wolf states.
   Blue looks up at the talk, looking over at the wolf, "Wha...what just happend to me." The dog shakes his head a little.
   Napalm glances sideways at the dog, "What are you talking about?"
   "My vision clouded over with red and all I wanted to do was kill." Blue glares at the dog. "What do you know about this?"
   "Ahh," the injured dog starts, "so the formula has begun its work already has it. We weren't certain the injection was received before."
   Blue pounces off the gun, and runs over to the dog. "WHAT formula?!
   Talk dog!" Napalm claps down harder on the dogs neck, his claw begining to get warm.
   "Arg! The formula, to help complete your transformation."
   "What transformation?"
   "They said it removes the blockage of some ancient power you possessed..some type of immunity. That was its main intent anyway."
   "Who said? Who do you work for?"
   "Who do you think! The Awardings!" the dogs replies arrogantly.
Napalm growls and squeezes harder. The dog gasps.
   "What is this immunity."
   "I don't know..they didn't tell me and I didn't ask. Thats all I know." Blue shakes his head again..clearing the last remains of whatever it was he was feeling. "Ha! The side effect seems to be well in place as well." Blue glares back at the dog..his grey eyes flashing.
   "WHAT side effect?!"
   The dog growls as his neck begins to grow incredibly warm in the wolf's grasp. "They called it bloodlust....supposed to send you into a violent rage."
   Blue growls, "And...why?"
   "I don't know. It was just a side effect they anticipated. They didn't design it like that. And if the master did want it that way, why would he tell me?"
   Blue snarls at the dog, moving closer. "Anything else you would like to tell me?" as he bears his fangs at the dog. The dog tries to appear stoic in the face of intimidation, but doesn't entirely succeed. Blue feels his paw starting to raise .. claws fully extended.
   "I don't know anything else...honest." Blue hesitates..and shakes his head. The dog grins evily as he watches the dog nearly lose control. His grin fades as he smells his own fur burning the the wolf's grip.
   "I've got a question for you." the wolf states, "How do you fix this?" Blue turns away from the dog regaining control.
   "I don't know...I'm just a commander...they don't tell me anything."
   "Then who does know? Where can we find the cure?!" Blue turns
back to the dog.
   The dog squirms uncontrolably, whimpering as his fur burns and the paw begins to burn into his skin. "I don't know! I don't know!"
   "Burn him for all I care." Blue states as he watches the dog.
   "Then where is your base? Where was the research conducted?" Napalm questions. Blue just looks at the dog in disqust. The dog screams continuously and the wolf drops him. His neck bearing a black paw print where he was held. He whimpers and squirms on the ground.
   "Such a waste of a canine." Napalm notices the other dog begining to edge off to one side. Quickly he causes a small fire to spring up in front of him.
   Napalm then turns to the other dog, "Not going anywhere I hope."
   Blue snarls at the dog, "What do you have to add?" The dog leans far back into the wall. "Hopefully a lot more."
   "Whatever you want to know," the dog whimpers, "I'll tell you. Anything."
   "What were you doing here?"
   "The boss sent of after some documents. He said they'd be in that office." He indicates the office down the hall.
   "What documents?"
   "I don't know. He said they were very old. We'd know them when we seen them. Thats all he told us, honest."
   Blue thinks for a moment about what he had found in the office earlier, then looks back at the dog. "Where are the labs and the holding cells at the compound?"
   "Uh..the labs are on the third subfloor, the holding cells on the one below that."
   "How many guards?"
   "Uh...ehhh...about.." The dog appears to be doing some calculating in his head. "Somewhere around 500 in the entire compound. More or less."
   "How strong is the cells guarded?"
   "There are usually about 50 guards on that floor..scattered around. About 10 at the first check point...20 at the second. 30 others, in groups of ten, on patrol throughout the hallways."
   "What about the labs?"
   "About the same. The compound is set up very uniformly. But you would have to get down there first."
   Blue glares at the dog eyes flashing. "I don't like that tone of voice.
   The dog cringes back against the wall. "What did that chemical do to you? The reports said you were normally kind..loving..it's changed you."
   "HOW should I know, dog!"
   The dog jumps back, his eyes wide with fear. "Please! Don't hurt me! I've told you all I know." Blue growls, but manages to turn away and stomp off back to the office. Napalm grabs the squirming dog off the ground and indicates that the other should follow him. He opens a supply closet, takes out an extension cord and ties the two dogs together, without any resisitance.
   "There," the wolf said as he inspected his handywork, "you two should keep until the police figure out what happened here." Blue goes to the desk picking up the phone and dialing a number. Napalm pulls both of his legs off the ground and hovers cross-legged in front of the two captives. "So, what do you do for a living?" the wolf asks the healthier dog.
   "Come on..pick up..." Blue growls into the phone.
   "Uh..." the dog said shakely as he watched the floating wolf.
   "I work for the Awardings..I do what they tell me.."
   "Oh.." the wolf grined back at the discomforted dog, "Well, do you like the work?"
   "Hello...." Blue finally speaks into the handset. "I need to speak to Falchion."
   "Well, it's ok." the dog replied as he realizes he should answer the questions. "Most of the time. The money's good."
   "NO.." Blue growls into the phone, "You listen to ME...this is Blue calling ...you WILL get a hold of him NOW."
   "Yeah," Napalm says. "How long you been with them?"
   "Thank you." Blue replies to the unheard voice.
   "About five years now...I'm due for a promotion you know." the dog replies proudly.
   "Bro...we have some problems.." Blue states. "Your capital city office has been broken into ..as well as the old cargo plane got shot down."
   Napalm laughs, "Guess we kinda screwed that up for you didn't we?"
"Don't know..." Blue says as he looks around the office absently. "I think the Awardings has him...but your offices are trashed." The dog gives the wolf a very strange look and then sinks into a depressed state, comtemplating his dismal future. "What.." Blue looks around for something. "Oh yea, I have them." He says as he picks up some parchments. "Yes the police know..they're on their way..very slowly of course." Napalm sees that the dog won't be much for conversation and decides the puddle of drewl in front of the other indicates the same. He floats over to the window, resumes a standing position and looks outside. "Well..it is pretty messy in here...yes..you know I'll go after him...I don't want one of your employees in their cluches."
   "Uh, Blue," the wolf says looking out the window. "I think we might want to leave soon.
   Blue looks up. "Hey...Bro..police here.....don't worry I have a friend." he says to the final unheard question. He hangs up the phone. "Back way." He starts out the door turning away from the entrance and walks down the hall carring the parchements that he had found in the office.
   "Gotcha." Napalm follows the dog out of the building. Blue walks quickly out the back door and heads down the alley. The wolf follows the dog out and at the end of the alley, turns in the general direction of the hotel. He looks up at the setting sun.
   Blue looks down at the paper he took from the office. "It's getting late, I suppose we'll have to put off any plans until tommorow."
   The dog looks up, "Yea..back to the inn." He looks at the papers again.
   "So, what do we have on tommorows agenda?"
   Blue looks at the wolf. "Hmm." He blinks. "What did you say?"
   "I said..never mind, what have you got there?"
   "Some very old parchements that my bro had. It details my families powers."
   Napalm looks over at the papers. "Hmmm...interesting, he never showed these to you?"
   "He said he just got them." The dog looks at some writing on the side of the parchement. "But I can't read most of this."
   "What?"
   "This." Blue points. "It's an ancient language..this word says fire but the rest of the line I can't."
   "Let me see..." The dog hands the paper to the wolf as the wolf looks at it closely. "Oh that's clear enough, it says `Immunity from fire of the might phoenix.'" The dog gasps and looks at the wolf. Napalm stares back at the dog then begins to comprehend the significance of what he just said. "Immunity from the fire of the mighty phoenix....This cannot be good..."
   "What..is that what they did to me..unblocked that." Blue ponders a few seconds then, "What language is that?"
   "It's an ancient Lonican. One of the first great civilizations, we fought a brief war with them before they decided peace with us was less costly."
   "I knew the SunFires were old..didn't know they were THAT old."
   "There is no reason to doubt that, there were as many canines then as now, one of your relatives was no doubt among them."
   "Yea, but I mean that is thousands of years ago..how could the powers stay strong over that time in my line."
   "Well, 50,000 years at least. It's possible that it no longer IS as strong as it once was..but the Awardings seem to feel otherwise. Or I suppose whatever gene allows this is dominant, even if the ability is blocked."
   "Hmm..now about this blocked power..why would I be immune to the
fires of your race?"
   "Well, I can't guess at the origins of such a power, though it might be in our records somewhere, I shall consult our historian when I next return. As to a purpose for it, I think that much is obvious. You, or your ancestors rather, were meant to fight us."
   "I mean what is the basis of all my line.. the minisun, the colours, the heat?"
   Napalm shrugs. "Add one more ability to the list. You are immune, or so we are to assume, to the fires of all phoenix."
   "And this is why the Awardings wants me..so they MUST have known
about your race...maybe this is why they wanted my father too."
   "Well, we aren't exactly secretive about our existance. There are many who do know, but the vast majority simply haven't met us and therefore don't believe we exist. The Awardings have no doubt met with a member of my race somehow."
   "I do know that I hate that bastard for giving me this bloodlust."
   Napalm puts his arm around the dog. "I know, but we'll find a way to fix it, if the Awardings can't there is a phoenix who I think can..in time."
   "Good..I don't like this..if I get bloodlust everytime I fight.. I'll be in jail or excucuted."
   "What?!?! You think I'd let some puny mortal government kill my best friend! I don't think so!"
   Blue looks at the wolf with a smile. "Thanks"
   Napalm returns the smile and gives the dog a warm hug. "We'll get them...somehow. He lets the dog go and continues on in silence, his eyes open but not seeing. Blue walks in silence..turning to the wolf to ask him something.
   "What abou..." the dog stops as he sees the wolf not responding. "Nap..are you okay?"
   "Huh?" Napalm looks up.
   "What's wrong?"
   "Sorry, I'm just worried about the missing one...and how she fits into all this." The two walk in silence as they enter the inn. Blue heads, gets a message from the desk, orders food to be brought to the room..and heads towards the room. The dog turns to the wolf. Napalm follows along.
   "I know your worried, we will talk in the room..a little more private." Napalm nods, returning to his thoughts. The dog closes the door. "Okay now we can talk."
   Napalm sits down on his bed and lays back. "I'm not exactly sure where to begin..."
   "Start at the begining." the dog says with only a slight grin.
   Napalm saw that coming but ignores it. "Well, let me start of by saying we were friends, good friends. Of course, by normal standards, ALL phoenixs are good friends, but we were much closer than that. We were born at about the same time, only 200 years apart. We grew up together, got into alot of trouble, but we had fun.
   "Trouble? Like painting the town red?"
   "Oh you know...kid stuff, offend a small village and come back with a spear in our talon."
   "Oh, ohhkay. Continue."
   "Didn't know those savages could throw it that far....Anyhow, we grew up together, and, well, I guess you'll have to know sooner or later, she's my first love.
   "Ahhh..now we get to the heart of the matter."
   "Phoenixs arent monogomist in general you know. But we do have a
certain special relationship with our first, and she was mine, as I was hers. Of course there is nothing official you understand.
   "Yea."
   "Phoenixs don't marry, don't believe in it, we mate as the mood strikes us, but that doesn't diminish its importance.
   "I think you said something like that before."
   "Perhaps, but anyhow, its not just like ANY phoenix had not returned, which would be disturbing enough, but its was HER. Most phoenixs do have one other they are very close to we protect each other in times of crisis or need, emotional or physical and now I feel I failed her, and I miss her greatly.
   "How can you have failed her if you didn't even know your race a
couple of months ago???"
   Napalm lies back, looking depressed. "I know it isn't logical...but it's a feeling I can't shake, its only made worse by the fact that I can't find her now. NOW I know, and I'm still not doing anything for her."
   "We will find her."
   "Yes, we will..." Napalm sighs. "I just know something terrible has happened to her. She always was the reckless one you know, going out getting in over her head."
   "What do you think could have happend? Do you have enemies too?"
   "That's the scariest part of all....Each phoenix tries to excel in one area particularly. She was a phoenix warrior/mage. Our second greatest in combat."
   "What about you?"
   "I'm a mathamatician and physcist. Among other things."
   "Hmm..maybe you can help find an antidote for the bloodlust."
   "I said physcist, not chemist. No, but I do know one who might. We have one who has made it his lifes work to know and improve the mortals science as a whole. He is the one who might be able to do that."
   "Good..I don't want bloodlust."
   "If anyone can, he can. It won't be the first miracle he's pulled off."
   "Now..do you have any enemies?"
   "Few if any, few enough even know we exist. There have been some in the ancient past..."
   "Someone does." He holds up the parchement.
   "Yes, some do know, but not many, not today. One in particular, a great mage of the ancient world."
   "Hold on a sec." Blue walks to the door just as it is knocked on. He opens it up, takes the food, tips the bellhop, and closes the door. "Here, eat and talk."
   "He fought a great war with us. The only truely challenging fight we had." Napalm starts to eat without really paying attention. "After that we relized we did have one weakness. The mortals tapped a power roughly termed as magic. It is the same power my own comes from."
   "Hmm. Did he die?"
   "We aren't certain. We believe he was killed when his temple was destroyed. But after all these years? He was just a lizard."
   "How powerful was he? and look at you, your ancient."
   "The most powerful mage the world has known, or so we believe. I'm a phoenix, we're ALL ancient, he was mortal."
   "If he was powerful..isn't there ways to lengthen your life? I don't know much about magic, but that sounds like somthing people would work for."
   "There is another phoenix that took up the study of his magics though, and he is far stronger now than that mage ever was."
   "Especially someone who is fighting eternal beings like you."
   Napalm considers this. "Even through magic, you can't create life. You can transfer it, but never create it."
   "Transfer?!?"
   "If he still lives, he would have had to have discovered the secret of transfering life from another to himself. Though many of his books where destroyed with his tower, we believe he was far from that discovery. Yes, taking the life energy from one being and placing it in another."
   Blue shudders, "That's evil."
   "It's useless to us phoenixs however, each possessing infinate life as it is. Yes, its truely evil, but then again, so was he. His objective was to rule the world of course, and the phoenixs would have let him, but we were a threat to his power. That is something he wouldn't stand for."
   "So how can we find out if he is alive or not?"
   "If by any chance he still lives it would be likely it was he who caused all this but...why blank our memories if only temporarily?"
   "I don't know..unless..." the dog leaves it blank.
   "No, he doesn't, he can't be. All these years? Biding his time until now? to do this? Its not likely."
   "No..your right..it can't be."
   "Believe me, if we could have determined for certain his death we would have years ago. By now his body is dust. And good ridance, the world is better off without him."
   "So that brings us back to the connection between you and me..why is my question."
   "At this point, your guess is as good as mine. Obviously the Awardings know of me. They, for some reason don't want us around."
   Blue picks up the finished plates and puts them outside the door..flipping the "Do not Disturb" sign up. "Or perhaps just wish you as a safeguard, in case we were to oppose him, though if he knew anything about us he should see the flaw in that logic."
   "And they want me to fight you I guess...otherwise, why go through all this trouble."
   "Well, not ME particularly, my race in general perhaps. But there are more phoenix out there than I think he realizes. Even immune to our fire I dont think you are a physical match for us. Not all of us certainly."
   "That's what I can't figure out. One of me against all of you, yet...if he made an army of superfighters immune to your fire.."
   "An army perhaps...there would have to be alot mind you. Several thousand at least. But without the aid of great magics I doubt even that would prevail, we still have flight, and the ability to retreat that way if it should be needed."
   "So I still have no idea what I'm being used for."
   "Well, he DID mention that he had knowledge of magic, or had mages under him that did."
   "Yea."
   "Between them and an army of such fighters, they would pose a serious threat. However I hesitate to inform my race of this." The dog notices the message that he had picked up at the desk. "I don't think either of us want to hear their solution to this problem."
   "Which would be?" Blue reads the note quickly.
   "Isn't it obvious? You are the only one possessing this power. Without you that power is lost."
   The dog looks at the wolf. "I would take great exception to that."
   "As would I. That is why you will not be mentioned to them until I am certain you will not be harmed."
   "Good."
   "Which means unfortunately, I can't depend on them for any backup on this. Its just us."
   "My brother is also not going to be able to help, he has problems in another city. That's what this note is." Blue says as he holds up the paper. "But then, he's not a fighter."
   "Ahh, well, guess we'll have to make sure we don't get in over our heads then."
   "But we do that soo well."
   "HA!" Napalm guffaws! "If you think I'm good you should see a
phoenix warrior! They are truely frightening....even to me!"
   "I'd rather see that phoenix miricle worker."
   Napalm chuckles. "Yes, I imagine you would enjoy that too, but we'll have to take care of this first. Of course that might mean something else as well..."
   "Yes I know."
   "If we do succeed and destroy the threat to my race, they will still want your immunity destroyed, but with no apparent risk they will do it humanly. They will find some way. I'll make sure of it."
   "I'm not sure I want it destroyed espeically if it is a part of me to begin with."
   "They may not be able to destroy it, if so they will probably find a way to block it again. And I honestly would have to agree. You haveing it is one thing...but if others learn of it sometime in the future? It will just start over again. Unless, but you wouldn't like that either.
   "Like what? I'm going to have to remain addiment on this..I don't want anymore done to me except to remove my bloodlust that wasn't origianally part of me"
   "Well, the phoenix do have a home. If you agreed to live there they would be happy with that. There they could protect that power from oursiders. Of course, possessing that ability is all that will keep you alive there. Its very hot."
   "No..I will live here...and if I must keep the bloodlust, I will..but I don't want to. But I want to have every thing that the SunFire name means.
   "They arn't going to like that...especially if you plan on having children. But just so you know, they arn't going to be very understanding about this. A race of immortals suddenly finding themselves threatened with mortality tend to act rashly."
   Blue looks at the wolf. "I really don't care at this point..don't take it personally, but I have found out that my family has been already altered..I DON'T want any more! And how do we know that it isn't passed on to my brothers kids?"
   "I'm not taking sides here, I understand. But I KNOW my own people. They arn't perfect. They look out for themselves first. And we don't know if its passed to them or not."
   "Would they do things to my nephew and neices?"
   "They would want to. But I really dont think they have it. Or your brother would likely be a target now as well...as would they."
   "No..it's well known in these files that he inhearited my mothers side..but we don't know about the kids yet."
   "Unless its recessive I don't think its possible. But then again, I'm not a genenitist. Well, I just thought you should know. Dont be surprised if they dont see things quite the way you do. But they won't know about you until you wish them to. You have my word as a semi-omnipotent being."
   "If I have to I will remove the bloodlust by my self..I will." The dog looks over at the wolf with a smile and a hug. "I believe you."
   "Well, we'll have to see how things turn out I guess. Until then, you should get some rest. I think we'll have quite a day ahead of us."
   "Yes..yes we do.." Blue takes a quick bath..then falls instanly asleep on the bed. Napalm sits up late into the night thinking before allowing himself sleep. Things were not looking good.