PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 18

STALKING GOES WRONG

‘Aww man!’ I yelled in my head once more.

“I know you’re behind the crate, so show yourself!” the man yelled.

“I have no choice, do I?” I asked back as I slowly revert back to a human form. I slowly rose on my feet and stood under the moonlight flowing through the cracked walls and boards. I loosen the top two buttons on my uniform and stood there preparing for anything.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” he yelled once more.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I smiled back. “I mean, creating a door to an abandoned warehouse, isn’t it kinda suspicious?”

“H-how did you…”

“Know? The warehouse door is on the other side. You could’ve walked through there without drawing any attentions. Instead, you made a large door yourself.”

I noticed that his breathing began to deepen.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked him. Without hesitation, he clasped once more. I readied myself in combat if anything attacks me. As he thrusts his hand to the ground, the same lightning and sparks flew and the ground quickly transformed into giant spikes that are heading towards my direction like a snake. I swiftly jumped up and ran on them like they were skipping stones. He gasped a little as I was gaining on him really fast. I made another jump and pulled his robe all the way out. I landed on my feet and turned. The person is a blonde man, probably in his mid thirties, with blue eyes that glows in the dark.I also have a feeling like I've seen him somewhere before. He grunted slightly and thrust his hands on the ground once more. This time, the ground savagely transforms itself into five giant cannons surrounding me. It was even faster and brutal than when he did the circle. The cannons fired simultaneously towards my direction. I quickly slid towards a blind spot of the cannons and rolled into position. As I stood up, he already made a few more cannons and fired at me. I quickly ran around the room avoiding all attacks. As he thrusted his hand once more, I pulled out a plank of wood from the window and threw it to his arms. It hit him directly and he quickly flinced in pain. Before he got the chance to react, I tackled him to the ground, pinning his arms. I quickly remembered where I've seen him before. It was Lloyd, the person who had tried to kill my brother.

"You!" I yelled. Before I got the chance to say anything else, he kicked me off and thrusted his hand once more. As I landed on the ground, a stone restraint bounded me on the waist, making me unable to move.

"Miss me?" Lloyd chuckled evilly as he approached me. He took out a gun from behind him and pointed it at me. "You know, it's nice to see you alive and struggling. It makes me happy that my victims are scared as hell."

"You jerk!" I growled as I tried to slip out of the restraint. He immediately hit my face with the butt of the gun.

"Now, now. How could you even say that? You should enjoy it. This is, after all, the last seconds of your life. I will return the favor you did to me a week ago."

He pulled down the safety of the gun and pointed it at me.

"Any last words before your brain is blown to bits?" he smiled sinisterly.

"Yeah," I chuckled as I took out the card out of my pocket. "I never thought I had to use this againts you."

"Ooh! What can a measley card do to a dangerous gun?" he asked with a mocking tone. I flicked the card off my hand, sending it flying towards his face. The sharp edges swiped his right eye. He yelled in pain as I took off my uniform and slipped the other way around, sliding towards his direction. I made a sliding kick and a backflip one to disarm him quickly. I grabbed the floating card near me and pocketed it.

"You know, you should learn how to do that while you're in prison," I chuckled as I prepared another battle stance. He grunted slightly and threw a can towards me. It quickly explodes as it made contact with the ground. I covered my eyes to prevent the light from blinding me. As the light dispersed, I noticed Lloyd was gone. I peered on the ground to find droplets of blood making a trail towards the exit.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told him about the door," I said to myself, cursing my stupidity. I stood up and began to follow the trail once more. But my action was interrupted once more by the ringing of my cellphone. Again. I groaned and took out the device. I pressed the answer button without looking at the screen name.

"Hello?"

"Michael Xavier Stone! You'd better have a damn good explanation for this!"

I cringed slightly as the voice on the other side of the phone yelled on my ear. And I think it was most likely damadged since Lloyd definately hit me right on the same spot.

"I tried to call you and what did I get?" mom's yelling rang even if the distance between my ear and the device was an arm length. "An immediate reject? What do you have to say for yourself young man?"

"I'm guessing I have a lot of explaining to do when I arrive," I sighed as I slowly crept the cell closer to my ear.

"Damn right, you will! Now if I don't see you here in twenty minutes, I'm gonna lock you out!" After the last sentence, mom hung up on me with a last bang, causing me to flinch once more.

"Harsh," I muttered. I quickly ran outside the building to go home. As I stepped out of the warehouse, I heard a tire screeching to my left. I jumped back and looked at the car. Lloyd was in the blue sedan with the window lowered. He pulled a gun out and fired several rounds. One of the bullets hit me on the shoulder as he continues to drive away from me, while another hits me on the stomach. I fell down on my knees and groaned as my wounds continues to bleed. I quickly took out my cell phone once more and pressed a speed dial. As seconds passed, I feel my body began to weaken as I have lost some blood.

"Hello?" John anwered my call.

"John, I"m hurt," I panted on the phone.

"Gerald?" John's voice began to sound more serious. "Where are you?"

"An abandoned warehouse, near le Blanc," I said as my vision became blurry.

"Don't move! I'll be over in a minute!"

Before he got to say another word, I slowly fade into the darkness as the pain became too much for me. I heard yelling over the phone shortly before I pass out.


I slowly woke up by the constant sound of beeping in my ear. As I slowly open my eyes, I found myself in a white bed with different monitors beside it. I groaned slightly as the pain on my shoulder and stomach returned to me. I slowly sat up and took a deep breath.

"Gerald!"

I turned to my left and found John and Mei sitting close to my hospital bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine now," I smiled back. I was really surprised when Mei jumped on me and took a deep kiss on my lips. The two of us stayed in that position for minutes. As our lips parted, she made a quick slap across my face. It really stung since it was close to where Lloyd hit me.

"Don't ever scare me like that again!" Mei yelled at me. I could see on her face that she was crying while I was still out.

"Sorry," I sighed and gave her an apologetic look. She smiled back and pulled me into a hug.

"You know, there are other people in the room," Alex's voice rang behind John. Mei quickly turned around and the both of us saw everyone in the room, including mom and dad. Mei and I immediately blushed heavily and chuckled nervously.

"So, lovebirds," dad smiles sinisterly. "Are you enjoying yourselves?"

"We were," Mei smiled back.

"So Michael," Louis stared. "Care to tell what happened back there?"

"Lloyd's back," I said seriously.

"What!?" everyone yelled in an instant. John, Chris, Ter, and our parents, however, didn't join in.

"I said, Lloyd's back."

“Yeah, we heard it the first time,” Mei said.

"Honey, who's Lloyd?" mom asked. I sighed deeply.

"The one who nearly killed Alex last week," I said.

"Oh, that Lloyd," mom remembered. "I thought he was sent into prison."

"Just got a message from the PD," Louis said as he closed his cell phone. "He really did escape from prison."

"And he wants revenge," I added.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 17

FIRST DAY ON THE JOB

I groaned as the pain on my head slowly subsides. I opened my eyes and found myself in a bedroom. I sat up and scanned the area. The walls of the room are completely white with a carpeted floor below it. The west wall has two doors, one leading towards the hallway and the other towards the bathroom. On the south wall, which was currently in front of me, hangs a 48” flat screen TV with a DVD set on the rack beneath it. The east wall is replaced by the same windows on the living room, giving a beautiful view of the garden outside. There is also a large white sofa, enough for three, in the center of the room, accompanied by two easy chairs of the same design.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

I turned my head to my left to see John sitting on a chair similar to the ones I saw.

“Are you okay?” he asked. His green eyes show concern as he stares towards my direction.

“My head feels like it was hit by a truck,” I chuckled softly.

“What happened? Why did you suddenly pass out?”

“I dunno,” I replied. “When I took a look on your eyes, I felt very nostalgic. Then, I began to saw images of an event.”

“Event?”

“I think it was Gerald’s memories that came to me.”

“Really? What was it like?”

I began to retell the images that I saw when I passed out, from walking on the hillside, to the part where the fox was hit on the head with the flying object. John listened closely to every detail that I gave him as he rubbed his chin.

“Well,” he said, “that definitely happened in the past. I think it really is your memory.”

“So… I’m really Gerald?”

“Very likely,” he smiled. “You just got a portion of Gerald’s memory, the part where we never spoke of in front of Albert’s father.”

“Oh yeah. Who are Albert and Kendric? And I think I remember Al mentioning something about a Winter sword technique.”

“For starters, Albert Winter is the prince of a kingdom in Rivergale, a neutral territory located smack down in the middle of the two opposing legions. Usually those people would come and tried to kidnap him as ransom so the king would have to join their team.”

“Did that ever happen?”

“Never in a million years!” John smiled. “His majesty always took extra precautions whenever events happened. He also had guards patrolling to take care of the city and Al.”

“Okay, what about Kendric?”

“Kendric is one of the city’s best scholars. His mother is an alchemist, so he didn’t learn magic. He likes to go to the city library and studies every kinds of knowledge he could find.”

“In the image, you asked him to tell you their weaknesses. Does that mean…”

“Yes, he studies the anatomies of all species. He could tell us the weak spots of every creature in the world. He also has some talent on finding their elemental weakness.”

“How? And who could use the attack magic?”

“We really don’t know. And in our group, none of us can use it. You, Al, and Kendric can’t use any magic. Gabriella specializes on healing since her mother is a healer. I specialize on summoning.”

“Wait! Does that mean…”

“Yes,” Ter said as he entered the room. “I’m a summon guardian.”

I continue to stare at the two of them for a while, trying to say something as these new things enter my memory bank.

“Uh…”

“If you feel uncomfortable, we can talk about it next time,” John stopped me. “Now come on. Everyone is worried about you.”

I nodded and started o follow him outside. In the hall, he stopped mid way towards the stairs.

“Gerald,” he called me. “Perhaps we should keep that last conversation until the time is right, okay?”

“No prob,” I smiled back. We slowly descend the white stairs and head towards the east wing towards the living room. As we entered the room, everyone else stood up and walked over towards me.

“Are you okay?” Mei asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I smiled at her. “I just need a little rest, that’s all.”

She quickly pulled me into a tight hug, which caught me off guard.

“I was so worried about you,” she whispered in my ear. I smiled softly and rubbed her back.

“Sorry…” I whispered back. We embraced each other for a while until I noticed Nick was staring on my face for a while.

“What?” I asked as we broke the hug.

“Well your eye doesn’t seem to change,” he answered. Tony and Mei quickly smacked his arms, a little angry about the comment.

“What?” he asked the two.

“Show a little concern,” Tony glared.

“Sorry,” Nick apologized to me.

“It’s okay,” I smiled back. I noticed that the room was missing something. I did a head count and noticed Chris is not around. “By the way, where’s Chris?”

“I sent him off on a mission a moment ago,” John answered. “There was a fiend appearing on the docks that needs to be taken care of.”

“I see…” I mumbled. Then I suddenly remembered about my job. "How long was I out?"

"Two and a half hours," Tony told me as he looked on his watch. "It's three thirty now."

"Are you going somewhere?" Ter asked.

"Yeah. I got work later at six," I answered.

"Okay then," he said. We went outside the living room and towards the foyer. We stepped outside the front doors and said our goodbyes.

"If you need anything, you can give us a call," John said as he handed each of us his business card. We left the estate and head home. As we arrived at our home, we lethergically entered the three storied building. We went our seperate ways towards our rooms. I stepped inside my shower and took a nice bath under the steaming water. As I lather myself with soap, I began to think about the images in my head. Something in the memory has been bothering me.

'If I saw it correctly, the people in my vision are anthros,' I thought to myself. 'But we're humans now.'

I began to think for an explanation that would make sense. After a while, I couldn't find one. I gave up for now and stepped out of the shower. I dried myself and wore my cook uniform. It's a white long sleeved shirt with white buttons down on the center, accompanied by a black trouser and shoes. I wore the name pin on my shirt and faced myself on the mirror, making sure it was completly straight for my job. Satisfied, I walked out of my room and head downstairs where Alex was waiting to see me in my new uniform.

"Are you ready to cook them the meal of their lives?" he asked me with a smile.

"I can't wait till I get my hands on those cooking tools," I said enthusiastically.

"I can't wait to see the look on your customers' faces," he replied. I said my goodbye and started to jog my way to the famous restaurant. In Chez le Blanc, I began to cook meal after meal, serving my customers with the best meals I can cook, from appetizers to dessert.

"Come on, people!" Gaston, the head chef and manager of the restaurant, yelled through the small window. "We still have five more tables to serve!" Everyone in the kitchen gave an energetic yell to heighten their spirits. I, on the other hand, didn't because I was new. Instead, I jumped a little because I was really surprised. We instantly went back to work and give our best for the night. As the last couple finishes their meals, we started to close up. As I was about to leave the kitchen, Gaston patted my back.

"Michael!" he smiled under his black french mustache. "Your cooking skill is truly cest mandifique! I never thought you could cook all those hard leveled meals perfectly!"

I began to blush as he continues to praise my cooking skills.

"When did you learn how to cook like that?"

"Well, let's just say I had a lot of practice," I answered as I averted my eyes, avoiding eye contact that could make me blush even harder. Gaston wasn't fully convinced of my reason, but he let it slide afterwards. We parted our way a few momwnt later. The time now was 8:48. All of the buildings have closed down for the night. The only lights remainig are the streetlights and the moon. I smiled as I walked slowly down the dark street. I took out the small card out of my pocket and observed the fox once more. Under closer inspections, the fox in the card really look like an adult version of Gerald the fox in my memory.

‘Maybe he’s right. Maybe I am Gerald,’ I smiled softly. As I continue to stare at the magical object, I felt someone was watching me. I looked to my right and saw someone in a black cloak standing in the dark alley. He is most likely a man with the amunt of light given around us, but I really couldn't tell his features. We stare at each other for a while before I saw him walking away into the darkness. I wanted to go home, but I was a little worried since there are fiends lurking in the docks and the area is very close to it. I began to follow him and ended up near an abandoned warehouse with the windows all boarded up and the walls are all cracked. As I was about to yell, he began to draw something on the wall of the warehouse. Deciding it will be a very bad idea to interrupt him now, I stayed behind and watched. After he finished, the drawing appeared to be a circle. Because I'm still not familiar with it, I dunno what type of circle it is. He clasped his hands together and thrusted them to the center of the glyph. In an instant, lightning and sparks flew everywhere and a door appeared on the circle.

'No way! A mage!?' I yelled on top of my head. As my mouth continues to gape, he slowly entered the broken building. My instinct said it was a bad idea to follow him, but my curiosity got the better of me. I silently transformed myself into my fox form and stealthily followed him. We continue to walk until we reached the center of the warehouse. The area is totally open with very few shelves and wooden crates placed here and there. I hid behind a crate and peered on his every movement. He was drawing another glyph on the center of the room.

'What are you doing now...' I said in my head as I continue to stalk on him. As he finished, he stood up and clasped his hand once more. As he thrusted his hands towards the ground, a loud ringtone of a cellphone interrupted him. My cellphone. I jumped lightly and quickly turned it off without looking on the screen. As I peered back, I noticed he stopped midway of the process. He slowly got up from his knees and turned his cloaked head towards my direction. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness.

'Oh man! Oh man!' I panicked, knowing how totally busted I was.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" the hooded person yelled.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 16

Memory rekindled

We gasped as we saw the color change of his eye.

“W-what…” Mei stammered.

“It’s okay,” he smiled gently. “It always happens. Every one o’clock, my right eye changes its color.”

“How’d you do that?” Nick asked.

“I don’t know either, but it doesn’t really effect me that much.”

“When will it come back to normal?” I asked worryingly.

“One o’clock after midnight. Same headache, though…”

“Isn’t it a serious condition?”

“No, not really,” he smiled. "But I'm used to it."

"I see..." I muttered silently.

"Well, enough about my eye. What do you think, Gabriella? Wanna train too?"

"Hm... maybe..." Mei pondered for a moment. I continue to gaze on his green eyes more closely. I felt something very nostalgic about them. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my head burst into intense pain. I cringed and held both sides oif my head before I collapse to the ground. I heard voices around me, but I couldn't determine what they're saying as I slowly drifted into the darkness.


It was a very sunny morning. The area is covered by lucious green grass and trees. The gentle breeze flows down the hillside as a group of five young fur ascend it. The one leading them is an orange fox. His shirt is cream colored, paired with his dark brown pants and shoes. His eyes are light blue like the color of a stream.

"Come on, guys!" he smiled. "You seriously don't wanna miss it!"

"Slow down, Gerald," an artic wolf responded. His clothing is similar with Gerald's, but green, like the color of his left eye. His right one is blue, similar to Gerald's. He carries a brown pack behind him. "We still have a lot of time."

"But the best places will be taken if we don't hurry!" Gerald whined.

"Forgive him, your majesty," the wolf said to the white tiger falling behind. The tiger's clothing stands out of the group. His clothing is more of a noble's. His top is the color purple with a white long sleeved shirt beneath it. His pants are white like his fur and his feet is covered with yellow shoes. He carries a long sword on the left side of his belt. "He's just excited to see it."

"It'll be fine, John," the tiger smiled. His blue eyes gleamed under the light. "But, no formalities. After all, we're all friends, aren't we?"

"You're right, Albert," the wolf smiled back. "But you know your father would kill us if we're being rude to you."

"That's why drop the formalities when we're away from the castle, and use thme when we're near," the tiger chuckled.

Gerald quickly ran back down to the group and pulled a feline's hand. Her clothings and eye color are very similar to his. The only difference between their clothing is hers has more feminine touch.

"Come on, Gabriella!" he smiled. "Let's hurry up a bit!"

"Slow down, will you?" she smiled back. Her gray fur flew as she chased the young fox.

"How come he's so full of energy?" a brown husky sighed. His shirt is green like John's, but his pants is brown like Gerald's. His blue eyes shows a tired look on his face. The beltbag on his waist made a clinking noise as he continues to follow the leader.

"That bundle of energy probably came from his father, Kendric," Albert chuckled. "He's always enthusiastic when he guarded the castle from attacks."

The fox turned when he heard a little about his father.

"Come on guys!" he yelled, but not as energetic as before. "Stop talking and let's go!" He turned and quickly ran forward with Gabriella.

"That kid..." John sighed. "He must've missed him."

"What can I say," Albert said. "He was five when he lost him. Seven years without a father to protect you is really hard. I wouldn't even know what to do if I lose mine."

The three boys on the back followed silently as they reach their destination. On top of the hillside, they sat down and viewed the open field in front of them. It was filled with furs of all kinds, demonstrating their magic to the crowd for entertainment. The leader of the gang is a blue scaled dragon. He raised his staff high and a firework appeared in a shape of a feral dragon. The children gasped and were intrigued by the show until it ends. They slowly got up and walked back down the hill.

"That was amazing!" Gerald said, still psyched about the magic show. "Did you see the fire dragon?"

"Yeah!" Albert nodded. "You can definitly feel the heat from far away! I kinda wonder how they stand it."

"They're dragons," Kendric told him. "They're very adaptive to temperature."

"I see," Albert smiled. "I guess you really are a young scholar."

"Not much. I still have a lot to learn."

"Boy, I wish I could learn how to use magic," Gerald sighed.

"Maybe you can," Gabriella smiled as she cuddled the fox. "My mother is a healer, so she probably know some healing spells."

"Not healing, attacking," the fox replied.

"Why's that?" John asked.

"So I could protect the town like my father," the fox sighed deeply.

"I see..." John frowned. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, sniffing around his area.

"What's..." Gerald ask before he and Kendric smelt the same scent on the air. It's a mix scent of different furs.

"Guys," Kendric whispered. "I think we need to run."

"I don't think so, kiddies," a voice appeared. The group turned to see a large number of rouge furs surrounding them. The leader, a snow leapord, stepped forward. Gerald raised his arms to protect Gabriella.

"I think you kids know what we want," the leader snickered.

"If you're after Albert, then you'd have to go through me!" John, being the eldest of the group, yelled as he stepped forward. All of the rouges roared in laughter.

"Just what can a kid like you do to a band of sixty rouges?" the leader chuckled.

"This!" John yelled. He grabbed the necklace under his fur and concentrated his energy. A gust of wind blew out of nowhere and a magic circle appeared behind the wolf. A bright light shone, blinding the rouges. As the light disperse, a lion warrior appeared from the center of the circle. He wore a full body armor with a great sword on his back. The hilt of the blade has a design of a lion head, with it's mane spun around to make the handle. The lion's green eyes stared deeply at his opponents as he drew his sword.

"A summoner," the leader gasped. Before he had the chance, the lion warrior smacked the side of his blade to his head, flinging him from the ground.

"You guys dare to harm children?" the lion growled. "Then prepare to be slaughtered!" He drew his sword high in a battle stance.

"Ter! Don't slaughter!" John yelled as he grabbed the bow in his pack and drew an arrow. "You can hurt them, but don't kill them."

"Fine," the lion grumbled. "You guys are really lucky he doesn't want to kill you.". The rouges were furious and drew their weapons.

"Everyone, get back," John told the group.

"No way," Albert smiled as he drew the sword on his belt. "I'm not gonna let you fight alone. I'll show them the fury of the Winter sword technique passed down from generation to generation."

"Fair enough," John smiled. "Kendric, can you tell us their weaknesses?"

"No prob," he replied with a smile.

"Gerald, can I trust you on protecting Gabriella?" John asked as he prepared to shoot an arrow.

"No worries," he smiled as he crunched his fists. "I'll protect her with my life."

The group smiled softly and faced their opponents.

"Alright!" John yelled. "Let's go!"

The group dashed towards their opponents and started to attack. John swiftly fired his arrows continuosly, hitting his foes' limbs, disabling their fighting potential. Ter and Albert continues to slash every opponent in their way, injuring them and also knock them unconcious. Gerald continues to punch and kick anyone who gets too close to Gabriella and himself. As minutes passed, most of the enemies have been disabled for battle, and only a few of them are left. Albert and Gerald panted as they ran out of breath because their stamina has been depleted. John and Ter, however, remained strong at the end of the battle. John, due to minimal movement, and Ter because of he's the only adult with them. Not to mention he's also a summoned guardian.

"Want some more?" John yelled as he drew his bow once more towards the remainder of the group. The rouges fled in terror as they had feared the group of children, and a summoned guardian, that defeated them. John blew a sigh of relief as he set down his bow and placed the arrow back to the pack.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked as he spun around.

"We're fine," Gerald panted. "Tired, but fine."

"Seconded," Albert said as he resheathed his sword. "I'm completley exhausted."

"Don't worry," Kendric smiled. "I got just the thing for that." The husky drew a couple of bottles from his beltbag and handed them to the exhausted pair. The two took a drink and in an instant, their satmina was replenished.

"Thanks," Gerald smiled. "It's a good thing your mother's an alchemist."

John suddenly cringed in pain as he held his head. Everyone was startled and walked towards him.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella panicked.

"I'm fine," he panted. He raised his head, showing his artic lupine face, with his right eye changing color into green.

"Oh, his eye is changing again," Albert sighed a little in relief and a little in worriness. "I guess it's already one o'clock."

"Sorry to worry you all," he smiled gently at the group. He stopped smiling and stare at something in the woods behind his friends.

"Watch out!" he yelled. Gerald turned around to see something flying towards his direction in high speed, knocking him unconcious. The rest was a total blur to the young fox.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 15

Ancient history

"My name is John Yerlin Styler," John smiled at us. "And, as you may have heard from Louis and Lionel, I used to be a hunter like Ter and Chris."

"I'm Tony," Tony introduced himself. "This is Nick, Mei, Alex, and Michael," he said as he gestured his hand to each of us.

"So you quit as well?" Nick asked. John nodded softly.

"Ter and I had our reasons. But let's get on the topic. What do you guys want to talk about?"

"We want to know a little more on the fiends," Tony replied.

"And what would it be?"

"When did all these actually began?"

"I see..." John nodded. "Well, this will probably a long story. So why don't you prep up with some tea and snacks?"

We complied by grabbing our cups of tea and plates of snacks as John slowly began to narrate.

"It all began 1500 years ago," he started. "It was a brutal war between two nations. One of them is the nation of Galeriver. The other is the nation of Pyroshock. And as you may have noticed from the names, the two nations have their differences on their elements. One conjures the power ow wind and water, while the other uses fire and electricity.

"The battle went on for centuries, until 1000 years ago, the Pryoshocks created a new spell technique that could destroy the entire universe. The Galeriver retaliate with their own, but it causes a major imbalance on the world and the dimensions. Both side have lost their abilities on using magic, and nowadays, magic users are very rare."

"So, Alex is special?" I asked.

"Indeed he is," John smiled. "But back to the topic. The major imbalance made a rift hole that could destroy a larger portion of the whole system. But a young soul made a huge sacrifice, turning the deadly magic into something that could be disposed, hence the fiends were born.

"Until now, the magic still lingers everywhere. That's why a group of people got together and formed an alliance to fully dispose these things. That's when the Hunter's Guild was born."

"Wow..." Mei said. "That's so detailed."

"Thank you."

"I have a question," Tony said. "What exactly did he sacrifice?"

"No one else but the man knows," John sighed. "But I do know this. It was him that specifically chose the hunters and taught them the art of animorphic."

"So, he was alive?" I asked. John just smiled and nodded.

"Is there anything else?" John asked.

"How exactly do you know all these?" Mei asked.

"The Styler family has been in the war for generations," he stated. "It's no surprise that someone in the family might know a lot more than normal."

"So how long have you been fighting these things?" I asked.

"Longer than you could ever imagine," John chuckled.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Gerald, let's just say you really don't wanna know right now."

I sighed and nodded. I was slightly disappointed of the answer.

"So who exactly is these Gerald and Gabriella?" Mei asked.

"They're old friends of mine," John answered. "We've known each other since we were kids."

"And we're also in the Hunter's Guild," I added. Again, everyone, including me, is surprised when I said it. John, on the other hand, just smiled.

"That's right," he said. "We used to work together. Until that day..."

"What happened?" Alex asked.

"Let's just say, some things are meant to be kept until the time’s right," he sighed. The room became silent once more.

"Say Gerald," John called. "Do you still like to cook?"

"Me?" I asked. John nodded back. "Of course."

"Then can you help me in the kitchen? Let's make some lunch for everyone."

"Okay," I smiled. We slowly stood up and picked up the trays on the table. Everyone placed their dirty dishes on the trays and stood up.

"Ter, Chris," John called. "Why don't you take them to the game room? We'll call you when everything's ready."

"Okay Jo..." Ter said midway before John interrupted him.

"If you don't want to be covered in these things, I suggest you call me by my real name," he glared.

"Okay John..." Ter said with a shudder.

"Come on Ger," he smiled at me. We walked towards the room behind the doors. It's a very clean kitchen, with silver utensils hanging here and there. The counters themselves were spotless and all of the supplies are in order.

"I arranged them just the way you used to like," John smiled as he placed the tray on the large sink basin. I awed at the marvelous positioning. He knows what I like more than I do. I placed the tray on the sink as well and scanned the inventory. His fridge and spice cabinet practically have all kinds of ingredients.

"So what do you have in mind?" John interrupted my scanning.

"I think something French," I smiled back.

John nodded and started to help me cook. We started with the garlic bread with french bread and garlic.

"Say John," I said as I began to dice the garlic. "This Gerald guy, is it me?"

"I think so," he smiled back to me as he diced some tomatoes for the main course. "You remember some parts of our past, and you know my name before we knew each other."

"So exactly how long since you've known this guy? Am I his decendent or something?"

"Actually, you're a perfect resemblence of him. I think you're really him."

"Then these feelings I have with Mei..."

"Probably your deep connection with Gabriella. You two were..." John smiled as he stopped midway.

"Were what?" I looked back up. John just shook his head.

"Nothing," he smiled. "You'd probably freak if I told you. Maybe next time, okay?"

I smiled back. We continue to cook the food while talking about my life, as Michael, of course. I really don't know this Gerald, but I became more curious by the second. Eventually, the whole dish was prepared and we smiled in satisfaction. We placed the dishes on a cart and walked to the door on the North, leading to another majestic room. This time, it's a fancy dining room, complete with table cloth, candelabra, flowers, and stuff alike. We set the dishes on the table, positioning them to be like a fancy dinner party.

"They looked pretty good if you ask me," John smiled. "I see you haven't lose your cooking skills."

"Thanks, I guess," I smiled.

"You want to call them, Ger?"

"Why don't you do it? And my name now is Michael, not Gerald."

"Alright, Michael," he smiled back. He stood there looking at me with gentle eyes.

"What?" I asked. I was surprised when he suddenly hugged me tightly.

"Thank goodness you’re still alive," he said. His eyes began to form tears.

"H-hey, don't cry," I said as I patted his back.

"S-sorry," he smiled as he pulled back. He slowly wiped the tears forming in his eyes. “I’m just happy you survived the incident.”

"Um..." I rubbed the back of my head.

"Don't worry, Ger- I mean Michael. I'll tell you when I think you’re ready," he said. He left the room to call the others, leaving me alone in the dining room. I ponder for a moment, trying to remember anything about my past life, or anything that relates with John. But no matter how hard I tried, nothing came up.

“Arrgh!” I yelled in frustration. “What’s up with this!?”

“Michael?” Mei’s voice sounded from the hallway. I turned to see her walking in the room. She had a worried look on her face.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

“Y-yeah,” I smiled back. “Just got a little frustrated, that’s all.”

“Okay…” she smiled as she slowly walked to me. The look on her face is very gentle. I don’t know if it’s my feelings or Gerald’s, but whenever I see it, I always felt happy. We slowly leaned into each other and closed our eyes. Our lips were a few millimeters away.

“Hey guys! Ready to eat?”

We jumped back, really surprised of the sudden interruption. Our faces were red when we saw Nick coming in from the hall.

“Uh… did I interrupt something?” he raised an eyebrow.

“N-nothing!” I blurted out. My face and Mei’s were burning with embarrassment.

“Okay…” he said as he shrugged it off. The rest of them joined in and sat down on a chair. Mei and I continue to stare at each other for a moment.

‘Am I really in love with her?’ I thought. I was thinking she thought the exact same thing when both of us started to blush once more.

“Gerald, Gabriella,” John called. “If you don’t sit down, we can’t start this lunch.

“Huh? Oh… right,” I said as I took one of the remaining seats as Mei took the other. The both of us were completely silent as the rest of them continued to talk. I wasn’t paying much attention as a lot of things are floating in my head. I could tell from Mei’s expression, she couldn’t pay attention as well. Suddenly, I felt a lot of stares coming towards me. I looked around and saw everyone is staring at Mei and me.

“Are you two okay?” Chris asked. “You two have been awfully quiet.”

“Y-yeah,” I answered. “W-we’re fine.”

“If you say so…” he mumbled. The dining room suddenly became very quiet.

“Hey, uh… John,” I called. He raised his head once more to see me. “If we’re old friends, then could you teach me about my old techniques? I might need some of those old skills.”

“No problem,” he smiled. “Why don’t you come here every Saturdays for your lessons? Perhaps Gabriella would want to train too.”

“M-me?” Mei looked at him.

“You were very good when you used a sword,” John rubbed his chin. Suddenly, he held his head and cringed in pain. We were about to walk over to check on him when he raised his other hand to stop us.

“It’s okay,” he panted. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Tony asked.

“Yeah…”

He raised his head once more and saw the change in his eye. The color of his right eye changed into the same shade of green of his left.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 14

Lionheart estate

27 August

I woke up the next morning, feeling extremely refreshed. I was kinda excited because today I get to meet some experienced hunters. I quickly showered and change my clothes to something more casual. I picked up and wore a black T-shirt with dark jeans. I went down to the kitchen and prepared waffles for everyone. As I poured the OJ, I heard a door upstairs closing, followed by another one and footsteps descending on the stairs. In a matter of seconds, everyone was at the dining table, sniffing at the delicious aroma of strawberry waffles.

"Ooh..." Alex smiled. "Everything smells good."

"Well, dig in!" I chuckled. Everyone sat down and ate breakfast together. Mom and dad are already in their office suits. It's a pity they still have to work on Saturdays.

"Michael," mom called me. "Don't forget. You have to go home before 5, okay?"

"Okay mom," I nodded. I didn't have to ask another question. I only work in the weekends at around 6 till 9. So I have to be prepared at 5 and get ready to cook in the next hour. I’m glad mom always remind me of these details.

As mom and dad said their goodbyes, Alex and I started to clean up the dishes. Since we promised to meet up at our house, we waited patiently for the others to arrive. At around 7:16, we heard a honking of a car, right outside of our driveway. We stepped outside to find a red mustang, revving up in front of us. The passenger's window rolled down, showing Tony's face behind it.

"Hey you two!" he smiled. "Ready to go?"

We smiled and ran towards the car. I stopped halfway and ran back to the door to lock it. After that, I followed Alex and jumped in the car. The five of us drove towards the outer part of the city. We turned left and right till we reach an estate. The three storied white building is truly majestic. The greek design flashes under the morning sunlight. The building is also surrounded with greenery and the large fountain in front of it splashed water here and there. We were all flabbergasted at the view as we continue to drive to the parking space provided.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" I asked Nick.

"Truthfully, I dunno," he answered.

"What!?" Alex, Mei, and I yelled at the same time.

"Louis did say this is the address," Tony looked back down on his map.

"So, he's a millionaire?" Mei asked.

"I dunno," Tony replied.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," I said. We parked the car and stepped out. We head towards the double front doors and rang the bell. A few moments later, the door was opened by someone we apparently know. It was Ter. He was wearing a white T-shirt and light brown slakies.

"Ah, it's about time you guys arrived," he smiled.

"Ter!?" I yelled in surprise. "You live here!?"

"Yes. Come on in," he gestured to us, allowing us entry to the large domain. "Welcome to the Lionheart Estate."

Our mouths were completely wide open as we entered the foyer. The building itself was unbelievably tidy. The marble flooring beneath us can even show our own reflection.

“What in the…” Mei muttered silently as we continue to pass the room.

“Come on,” Ter interrupted our thoughts. “Don’t just stand there. Follow me.”

We were led down into a hallway. The marble floor was covered by a majestic red carpet, like the ones used in movie premieres. We looked left and right, admiring the decorations and paintings on the walls. Eventually, we reached to another open area, which looked like your everyday living room, but with a millionaire’s touch. All of the furniture looked really expensive. A full window, viewing the green garden in front of it, replaces the east wall. The north wall has another pair of double door, leading to the next room, while the south wall was built with a marble fireplace with a picture of a noble hanging over it.

“What are you waiting for?” Ter asked. “Sit down.”

We sat down nervously on the sofa with our mouth still gaping. Ter noticed our discomfort a second later.

“Uh… Is something wrong?” he raised an eyebrow.

“H-how’d you get so much money?” Nick stammered. “I mean, how could you afford all this?”

“I didn’t,” he smiled back.

“What!?” we practically yelled on top of our lungs.

“I didn’t buy this. My friend gave this to me as a present.”

“Boy, he must be very rich…” I thought out loud.

“Not really,” Ter corrected. “This estate is actually his family’s. He renovated most of it into my estate.”

“He really cares about you,” Mei smiled.

“Yeah, he does…” Ter looked up silently towards the white ceiling.

“So where is he now?” Troy asked.

“In the kitchen with his brother. They’re making tea for us.”

“Hey Ter!” a male voice boomed from the other side of the north wall. “Can you come here? I need your help on carrying these!”

“Sure thing, Joy!” he yelled back. In a blink, a large frying pan flew on the air and hit him right on the forehead. The banging noise sounded through the room, followed by him crashing down on the floor with the pan.

“And stop calling me that!” the voice responded. “You know how much I hate you calling me that!”

“Oww…” Ter held his forehead, cringing in pain. We held our breath, trying hard not to burst into laughter. Ter stood up, grabbing the steel pan, and head towards the double door on the wall. We smiled silently as we waited for them to come to this room. Finally, after what seemed like five minutes, Ter returned with a silver tray on his hand. It contains plates of snacks for us to eat while talking. He set the tray down and returned immediately to the door, opening it wide enough for people to walk through.

“Sorry we took so long,” a person appeared from the door. He appears to be an Asian, like Mei. He’s probably in his early 20’s. His hair is jet black with a ponytail on the back. He was wearing a white shirt with navy blue jeans. He has a pair of brown eyes that stared to the amount of guests. He’s carrying a tray of cups and a pot of steaming tea.

“No prob,” Nick smiled. “Are you Joy?”

Again, in a blink of an eye, another large steel frying pan flew in the air. This time, it hits Ter on the side of the head. He crashed to the ground once more with the pan on his side.

“See what you did?” a voice in the other room yelled.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Ter surrendered as he cringed in pain once more. He slowly got the pan once more and entered the other room. Some playful bickering could be heard over the door. The young man chuckled and walked closer to the coffee table.

“I’m Christian,” the young man smiled as he placed his tray down. “Nice to meet you guys.”

“So you’re the younger brother?” Mei asked. Christian just nodded as he sat down on the sofa.

“You can call me Chris if you want to,” he told us.

"So Chris," Tony started. "How long have you been fighting these things anyways?"

"For as long as I've remembered. I think I was 6 when I started my first fight."

"6!?" I gasped.

"I really don't remember that much. Sorry," he hung his head. "If you want more details, ask John."

"John?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"My brother."

"I thought he was called Joy a moment ago," Nick scratched his head.

"Few years ago, some guy played a practical joke on him by erasing parts of his name. Ever since then, he's always called Joy by them."

"Did he do anything about it?"

"Let's just say, those guys can never be the same again," Chris chuckled. We were a little worried and curious of what he did, but we were interrupted by the door, swinging once more. Ter was walking out of the room, smiling softly as he held the door for the other person to come in.

"Now, will you forgive me?" he said with pleading eyes towards the room.

"Alright, fine," the other man said. He walked in, also carrying a tray of silver plates. Unlike his brother, he has light brown hair like Ter's. His eye color is also very different. His left eye is green, while the other is light blue. His face is clean shaved, with a smooth skin texture. His body is well toned for his age. He could possibly be a year or two older than Chris, while three years younger than Ter. He wore some very loose clothing over him. Brown T-shirt with baggy brown pants. His features is more like Ter's rather than Chris'.

And also, I have the same funny feeling to him like what I had to Mei. I felt like I've known him somewhere before. His head turned towards us and in an instant, he stopped dead on his tracks. His eyes widen the moment he saw us. His mouth gaped as he dropped the silver tray. Luckily, Ter was quick enough to catch it in time.

"John?" Ter looked at him worryingly.

"No way..." he mumbled.

"Is something wrong?" Mei asked. He faced his head towards her and stammered.

"G-Gabriella?"

"Who?" we responded questioningly. He snapped back and took a look at me.

"Gerald?"

"Excuse me?" I flinched.

"Is it really you two?"

"Who are you talking about?" Mei asked.

"You... don't know me?" he asked with a sad face.

"We've just met today," Tony answered. "How could we possibly know you?"

"Y-you're right..." he sighed. "Sorry. You two reminded me about someone I knew a long time ago."

"It's fine," Alex answered.

"Well, allow me to introduce myself," he smiled softly at us. "My name is..."

"John Yerlin Styler..." I mumbled out loud. I jumped back a little when I said that. Everyone, including John, stared at me with a surprised look.

"Gerald?" he stared at me.

"Michael," Mei called. "You know him?"

"Somehow..." I replied, still confused on what I just said. "I think I've met him somewhere before. Just like when I first met you."

"Is it true?" John stepped forward slowly. "Is it really you?"

"Sorry," I looked back. "I dunno who this Gerald is."

"It's okay," he smiled softly. "I'm just happy you remember me."

"Um... Can someone explain what's going on?" Nick interrupted.

"It's nothing," John chuckled. "Let's have that talk you want." He slowly walked over to the sofa and sit down. Ter followed and placed the tray down on the table. He stepped back and sat next to John.

"Well, I'll say it again," John smiled." My name is John Yerlin Styler."

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 13

Team

26 August

It has been five days since we've moved to our new house. Alex is now a new student in the school, like me. What kinda surprised me is the score of his entrance exam. Rumor has it that he made a perfect score on every subject. The teachers suspect him cheating, but after a retest, he still gets a perfect score. The teachers couldn't believe the results. Even I couldn't believe it. When the teachers asked him which classes he wants to take, he wanted his schedule to match mine. So we had classes with each other everyday. The only subjects I had to help him were Home Ec. and P.E. Other than that, he always got perfect grades. I finally found a job as a chef at a restaurant called Chez le Blanc. It's a very fancy restaurant that's both cheap and filling. The pay was good, and I really enjoyed my time there.

My relationship with Mei is still okay. When I asked her what she meant with losing me again, she said she didn't know either. Talk about a very bizarre conversation. Eric has gotten a lot better. Thanks to James, all his wounds have finally closed up. The good thing is that he doesn't remember anything about our encounter with the fiend. And luckily, the damaged apartment was successfully repaired the day before he got out of the hospital.

Speaking of fiends, our hunter business is doing pretty well. We're finally getting the hang of eliminating them inconspicuously. But still, it was still hard to dispose of them alone.

Anyways, it was a Friday noon like any other. The current time was lunch break. We were sitting in the cafeteria together with Mei, Nick, and Tony. We chatted happily like the other days we've passed. We also chatted about what happened during our classes and other funny events that happened during the past few days. I even told them about my new job downtown. They said that they'll visit the place more often to taste my cooking too. We continue to chat until it was 5 minutes before the next period.

"Say, do you guys wanna hang out at our house today?" I asked them.

"Sure thing!" Troy agreed. "We kinda wanna see the whole house ourselves."

"Alright. Now that's settled, let's go to our classes now," Alex got up from his bench. "Come on! We still have 4 minutes before P.E. starts."

"Right," I nodded. Troy, Nick, and I got up and followed Alex. I turned my head towards Mei and smiled.

"See ya Mei!" I said to her. She smiled back and waved her hand. We dashed towards the locker room and change into our gym clothes. The frequent stares to my scars have reduced into a minimum, which makes me very relieved. As we enter the gymnasium, we began to chat about hunters and fiends.

"So tell me, how long have you two become a hunter?" I asked them.

"I started four years ago," Nick answered me. "Tony started last year."

"Did I become a hunter before I got this amnesia?" Alex asked.

"As far as I remembered," Nick responded. "And I think we first met around 5 years ago. You were taking care of one with Lionel when we first met."

"Really?" I stared, quite fascinated at Alex's past.

"Yeah. Ever since then, we always meet up and I eventually became a hunter myself."

"What about you, Tony?"

"Well, last year, Nick was careless enough to be noticed," Tony nudged Nick on his arm. "That's how I know about these things. And since I've been fencing ever since I was 8, I easily become a hunter."

"Ahem!" a deep male voice interrupted our conversation. We turned and see the teacher towering behind us. I never noticed his features this close.

He seems to be in the mid 20's. He has a deep brown hair with gleaming blue eyes. His muscles are well toned and bulging, even under the baggy sports jacket and sports pants. His white shirt is hidden under the light green jacket. He has a very serious, yet gentle face. On the jacket, the word "Lionheart" is sewn in yellow on the left chest.

"Do you guys mind not to talk now?" he smiled softly. His deep voice is very gentle, which is very surprising, considering he's around Lionel's size. "This is P.E. after all..."

"Okay, coach," Nick nodded.

"And let's keep that secret between us, okay? We wouldn't want everyone to know about it," he chuckled.

"Sure thing," Tony smiled. With that, Mr. Lionheart left our group and went to the supply closet.

"Is he..." Alex looked at Nick and Tony as he pointed his finger at the young adult.

"Yes, he's one too," Nick nodded once more. "But enough about that. Let's get physical!"

"You're on!" I yelled back, challenging him on the next practice. Today we played a nice little game of dodge ball. Tony and Nick are placed in one group, while Alex and I are placed in another. We began to smack each other's teams with the red rubber, knocking everyone out one by one, till Nick and I were the only players left. Right now, he's got the upper hand, holding two balls under his arms.

"Why don't we finish this once and for all?" Nick grinned at me.

"Gimme your best shot!" I yelled back. He threw the one on his left towards me, but I dodged it easily. Noticing it hit the ball between us, I made a high jump, avoiding the second ball that was rolling because the throw. Nick uses this chance to throw me the ball on his right. I quickly maneuvered by jumping once more in mid-air, avoiding the throw. As the ball bounce back from the wall behind me, I spun my body and caught it with my right, and with another spin, released it towards Nick. He wasn't prepared for the attack because he was a little surprised of the double jump. He was hit on the shoulder and the sound of Mr. Lionheart's whistle sounded, ending the game. I landed on the floor with a very satisfying smile on my face.

"Alright everyone," Mr. Lionheart shouted. "Play time's over! Head towards the showers!"

We all head towards the lockers, but everyone now started to surround me once more. They kept on complimenting me about my skills. I was both happy and uncomfortable at the same time. They didn't give me enough personal space this time. Alex noticed this and pulled me away from the crowd.

"Okay, that's enough people," Alex pushed the crowds aside. "Coming through!" We quickly showered and change back into our normal clothing. We chatted idly as we pass the door towards the main building, but accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry," I quickly apologized.

"It's okay, Mike," the man said to me. I looked up and saw it was Mr. Lionheart.

"Say, you two," he pointed at us. "Got a minute?" We nodded and followed him to a more secluded area of the gym.

"First of all, I think a proper introduction is at hand," he smiled. "My name is Terrance Lionheart. And, as you know from Nicolas, I used to become a hunter as well."

"Used?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I quit becoming a hunter due to a certain circumstance," he sighed. "But I help out once in a while."

"Is that so..."

"Now you two, listen up. Judging from your recent experiences in battle, I say you two lack of them. So, Louis asked me to watch over you two."

"Does that mean you'll be fighting as well?" Alex asked.

"I will only support you when you're in big trouble. So, I suggest you make a team with Nick and Tony. They're more experienced in this, so you'll learn more easily."

"Okay," I nodded.

"If you need any help, don't hesitate to call me," he handed us each a card, containing his cell phone number.

"Thank you, Mr. ..."

"Just call me Ter," he smiled back. "Now get going. You're gonna miss your classes." We nodded and went back to the rest of our classes. After school, we got together and head towards our house. It's a pretty large three story house, painted white with an average porch and front yard. We entered through the front door and into the living room, complete with two sofas, three easy chairs, a mahogany coffee table, a marble fireplace and a 22" flat screen TV, also complete with surround systems, DVD player, stereo, and a complete collection of movies. We sat down on the sofa, discussing about Ter's suggestion.

"Hmm..." Nick rubbed his chin. "That could work."

"But they can take care of themselves, right?" Mei pointed out. "So what exactly is the purpose of making a team?"

"When timed, they're too slow," Tony told us. "They need to take care of them quicker or people will notice the fight."

"I see..." I mumbled.

"One thing's for certain, Mei," Nick added. "They'll learn quicker if we get together as a team."

"If you say so..." Mei nodded.

"By the way," Alex raised his hand. "How many hunters are there in this town? So far I've only known me, Michael, you two, Louis, Lionel, and Ter."

"Other than the ones you say, the people that is really involved is the Styler brothers," Tony explained. "The elder brother is the one who has the most contact with them. He once told me that the first team of hunters assembled was his group, consisting of him, Ter, and his younger brother."

"Can we get to meet them?" Alex asked enthusiastically.

"Sure. I'll ask Ter to tell them."

Tony stood up and took out his cell phone. He walked outside so the conversation wouldn't interrupt him.

"Why did Ter quit becoming a hunter?" I asked.

"No one knows for sure," Nick sighed. "But at least he helps occasionally."

Tony went back in with a smile on his face.

"He said that they agreed to meet up with us tomorrow," he told us. "Is it okay if we meet up here?"

"Sure thing!" Alex smiled. "Now that's taken care of, why don't we enter the game room and enjoy ourselves?"

We happily acknowledged the idea and went to the main hall. We entered the first door on the left to a large game room, filled with a pool table, dart boards, another large screen TV, game consoles, and an enormous collection of video games. We continued to play different games until it was dark. I cooked everyone dinner and they happily ate it. We said our goodbyes as they head out towards their home. At the same time, our parents arrived from their busy day at work. As they eat their dinner, we told them about our plan tomorrow.

"Well, as long as you're careful, okay?" mom smiled. We nodded and went upstairs to our respective rooms. Alex's room is colored violet, containing all his spell casting requirements, such as spell books, wand, staffs. His bed is also the color violet. My room, on the other hand, is white. It's a simple room, with a brand new computer on the oak table, next to the oak bookcase, full of my cooking books and my other books for classes. I stepped into the bathroom and prepped myself to bed. After that, I dropped myself on the bed and sleep peacefully after another tiresome day.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 12

Misunderstanding

I woke up the next morning, feeling sore all over my body. I groaned and rubbed my eyes for a moment. Instead of flesh, I felt fur. I jumped a little and saw my hand, which was currently a paw. I looked at my body and saw orange, black, and white fur all over my body. I scanned the room to see it was a total wreck. There are a few cardboard boxes across where I'm sleeping. I looked down and saw the charred floor I slept on last night.

'So it wasn't a dream...' I sighed. I got up from the wooden floor and head towards the bathroom. I faced the mirror and saw my vulpine reflection. I stared closely at my current features. My eyes turned from brown to deep hazelnut. My orange fur covered most of my body, while the rest are covered by white and black fur. Even the back of my ears are black. When I give it a shot, I could actually move them. I chuckled and wagged my tail, like any other foxes would do. Since I still feel sore, might as well take a shower in this form. As I drench myself in the hot water, I scrubbed my body with the shampoo I have. Since I currently have fur, I don't need to use soap. Just the shampoo. I rinsed all access and dried myself with my towel. I dressed myself in one of the clothes I had left out. It was a black T-shirt, paired with a cargo pants. I looked at my self in the mirror and closed my eyes. I slowly concentrate on my human image. Slowly, a gust of wind surround me and they dispersed into the air. I opened my eyes and saw that I'm back to normal. No more access of fur, no tail, nothing. Just my normal human self. I smiled softly and walked away from the mirror. Relizing on what I had done, I stopped dead on my tracks.

'How did I know how to turn back? I haven't even got my answer yet...' I pondered. I drew my card and examined the picture. It was a fox with a gray full body armor. On it's back was a great sword with an ivy design and on his left arm is a metallic shield with the same design. Under it, I noticed it was carrying a long sword on its sheathe. Possibly with the same ivy design. I gasped slightly when I noticed that the gauntlents and grieves I used yesterday was actually part of the full body armor.

'Does that mean those things came from that thing?' I thought. I was interrupted when I heard a door opening on the other end of the hall. I quickly pocketed the card and faced the door. Dad was stepping out of the door when he saw me. He smiled and leaned on the doorway.

"Well, it's nice to see your furless face," he chuckled. I chuckled slightly, wondering about his sudden change of attitude.

"Is your brother up?" he stood up straight again, tightening the belt of his bed robe.

"No," I shook my head. "But breakfast will be ready in five minutes." He nodded and entered his room again. I sighed and walked to the destroyed kitchen. I examined the gas tank and luckily, it's not leaking. I sighed in relief for once and checked the ingredients. I had enough ingredients to make some wakame udon, or seaweed noodles. Those are mom's favourites. I gathered the ingredients and grabbed a pot. I boiled the noodle and seaweed and added a few more ingredients. The odor flew through the apartment and out of it, since the door was completly busted of course. As I were about to put the bowls on the table, another orange fox stood in the hallway with a grin in his muzzle.

"Good morning sleepy head," I smiled softly as I placed the bowls.. "You might want to turn back to normal now."

Alex looked at his body and nodded.

"Um..." he mumbled, "how exactly do I turn back?"

"Just remember your human form, that's all."

Alex closed his eyes and in seconds, he reverted back to a human. He opened his eyes and stared at his furless body, like I did a few moments ago.

"How exactly do you know this?" he asked me as he sat down on the other side of the table.

"I dunno," I shrugged. Dad and mom went out of their room, taking a whiff of the food.

"Nobody starts eating those udons!" mom yelled as she ran to her bowl. "I want to be the first to try!"

We chuckled at mom's childish actions.

"This is one of the reasons I loved her," dad smiled as he kissed his wife's cheek. We started to dine in the food in a very good mood.

"By the way, we're going to move tomorrow," dad told us. I dropped my chopsticks and my mouth was gaping as I stared at him.

"W-what?" I yelled.

"B-but I thought you said that we'll move as soon as you've paid the rent!" Alex yelled, joining me.

"Yeah, I already paid everything," dad smiled. "Including Eric's medical bills, the apartment's furniture, and even a new door."

"Leave it to a gazillionaire to ruin the mood," I muttered silently under my breath. I sometimes wonder why they didn't use all those money to buy a mansion like other millionaires.

"I'm just so happy that we're together again," mom smiled at us. Alex chuckled nervously. I know he doesn't want to leave either.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow at 1," dad smiled.

'1 o'clock...' I sighed heavily.

"Why don't you continue packing while we take care of the dishes," mom smiled. Alex and I nodded and went to our room. At least, until tomorrow. We sighed and continued to place everything into boxes. Then, on the corner of my eye, I saw my card sticking out of my pocket. Suddenly, I got a great idea. I quickly ran outside to my mom.

"Mom, can I go out to say goodbye to everyone?" I smiled.

"No, sweetie," she smiled back at me. This is definately not the answer I was hoping for.

"Why? Why not?" I practically yelled on top of my lungs.

"Because I don't want you."

"That's no a very good reason!"

I sighed as she continues to wash the dishes.

"Then at least let me say goodbye to Louis and Lionel."

"No."

"Why? They've done so much for us!"

Mom quickly closed my mouth and pulled me to the bathroom. She closed the door and locked it.

"Okay, I'm sure you don't wanna hear it, but won't you listen to the reason behind it?"

I grumbled and nodded.

"We're not moving out of town."

"Wha?" I gaped. "I thought dad said we're moving away."

"Yes, honey. To a permanent home."

"And... where exactly is this home?"

"Just three houses away from your school."

I was completly speechless when I heard that.

"I guess your father should've told you two that we'll be residing in this town from now on," mom smiled sheepishly.

"Gee, you think?" I smiled sinisterly. "I almost tried to run away to Louis' house a moment ago!"

"Well, I'm glad this misunderstanding is cleared up."

"Yeah, to me! The others don't know yet! They must've thought we're gone for good!"

"Well, why don't you clear it up?"

"You haven't allowed me to step out of the house yet..."

"Oh, silly me," mom chuckled. "Well, go ahead, then."

We stepped out of the bathroom and I went to my parents' room. I knocked and opened the door. Dad was looking up from his laptop at me.

"Yes son?" he looked at me confused.

"You know, you should've told everyone where exactly we're moving to," I said to him. He gave me a confused look before closing the door. I began to step away from the door and looked at mom.

"Maybe you should tell Alex too," I smiled. "He looked really devastated when we misunderstood."

Mom nodded as I began to walk outside our apartment. My walk became very pleasant. I smiled happily as I jogged towards Louis' house. As I reach the green house, I noticed that Troy was tending the garden. He was wearing a white T-shirt with blue jeans. He looked up and saw me. He smiled gently as he began to stand up. He threw his gardening gloves to the green toolbox next to him.

"Hey, Michael," Troy greeted me. "Are you saying your goodbyes?"

"Nah," I chuckled. "I came here to clear up all of the misunderstandings. Can you call Mei to come here too?"

"Okay. Why don't you come in?" Troy said to me as he picked up the gloves and the toolbox.

"By the way, what's in the box?" I asked him.

"My gardening tool," he smiled back.

"Hobby?"

"Yup," he nodded as he placed the box on the dining chair. He picked up the phone and dialed someone. It only took a few seconds before the other line was picked up.

"Hello, Mr. Shou?" Tony said to the other person. "This is Tony Rigger, Mei's schoolmate. Could I speak to her now? Okay, thanks."

Tony faced me and nodded, confirming that she's still at home.

"Hello, Mei? It's Tony. Could you come over? There's something that we need to discuss. Yes, it's important. Okay. See you in 3 minutes."

Tony hung up and crossed his arms.

"Well, she's coming in 3 minutes," he smiled. "Is it okay for me to take a shower first?"

"Sure, go ahead," I smiled back. He slowly walked his way towards the hall and entered a room. I patiently waited for the others as I sat down on the dining table. As I hear the shower running, the doorbell rang. I got up and opened the door. Mei was standing there, a little surprised when she saw me opening the door.

"Oh, Michael..." she mumbled.

"Hi Mei," I smiled. "Come on in."

She followed me to the dining room and peered down to her feet.

"Are you here to say goodbye?" she whispered softly.

"Actually, I'm here to clear up all the misunderstandings," I said to her.

"Misunderstandings?" she looked at me with a confused look on her face. Her eyes were watering.

"Misunderstandings," I smiled. I took out my hankerchief and gently wiped the tears away. "I'm not gonna leave anytime soon."

"D-does that mean..."

"Yes. I'll be staying in this town for a long time."

Mei's eyes started to water again. She jumped on me, holding me very tightly and really caught me in surprise.

"I thought I'd lose you again..." she sniffed.

"Uh... lose me again?" I raised an eyebrow as I continue to rub her back. She continued to cry on my shoulder and didn't answer me. I sighed softly and let that last statment slide. I looked to the hall and saw Nick and Tony leaning on the pathway. They smiled as they continue to stare at us. I completly ignored them as I continue to rub her back. Seconds later, the front door swung open.

"Hey guys, what did we miss?" Lionel asked as he went in with Louis. The both of them carried a lot of grocery bags and nearly dropped them when they saw us.

"Uh..." Louis looked around the room, really confused, "did something happen?"

"You know, you guys really know how to ruin a good mood," I chuckled. Everyone, including Mei, started to laugh with me in the warm green house.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 11

BIG DECISIONS

When I arrived, I saw the door was torn open. I ran inside to find the landlord lying on the floor. His body was covered with deep cuts, and his blood created a pool beneath him.

"Hey! Are you okay?" I shook him. When I hear a metal clanging, I jumped back and see the attacker. Before me stands a white woman in a long white gown. Her hands held two golden cups with colorful gems on the handle. She stared at me with her golden eyes. I thought she was the dangerous intruder, so I prepared a stance to fight her.

"Are you the one who sent me those mails?" I asked her with a threatening voice. She smiled and nodded.

"Then you must be my target," she answered me.

"Target? Are you connected to the fiend 13 years ago?"

"Got that right, boy!" she yelled back. Her two cups suddenly transformed into twin swords as she began to attack me. I swiftly dodged all her attacks and countered her with an elbow hit, knocking her a few feet away. Before I gave her the chance to recover, I made a tornado kick, landing directly to her face, sending her flying towards my room. I landed on the ground and braced for another strike.she slowly got up and clashed her swords together, turning it into a... minigun!?

I quickly jumped out of the crazy shooter's vision, but as I land, I slipped on the pool of blood. I crashed down, and became vunerable to any attacks. I heard a click as I closed my eyes tightly. Rounds and rounds of bullets were heading towards me. But strangely, I didn't feel a thing. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Alex standing in front of me, creating the same ice barrier in front of us. The bullets were imbended in it as they continue to hit it.

"Are you okay?" he yelled towards me over the sound of the rapid firing gun.

"I'm fine!" I yelled back. I quickly got on my feet and step closer to him. Mei, Nick, Tony, and Lionel arrived at the front door a second later.

"Michael! Are you okay?" Mei yelled at me. The lady quickly aimed the gun at her and shoot her direction. Fortunately, Nick jumped and tackled her, making them both land behind us. Tony and Lionel hid behind the walls.

"Are you okay?" Nick panted. His blue eyes gazed the girl's body for injuries.

"Thanks," Mei gazed back. Nick nodded and stood up.

"Mei!" I yelled over the sound. "Can you and Nick take Eric out and help him?"

"Alright!" she replied. "You guys be careful, okay?" They quickly stood up and ran over the dying man. Nick quickly carried him on his back and made a dash outside with Mei. The both of us focused our attention towards the lone attacker.

"Do you think we'll be able to hit her?" Alex whispered.

"I can't," I whispered back. "She's way too fast. I need a little more speed."

"How?"

"Bazooka!!" Lionel yelled over to us. We quickly turned to see she had changed her weapon into a green bazooka.

"Say goodnight, boys," she sinisterly chuckled.

"Goodnight!" Alex waved his hand forward. The moment she pulled the trigger, a cold layer of ice completly covered the front end of the bazooka. The bazooka exploded into pieces, sending our foe back.

"This is getting out of hand..." I muttered. I quickly turn my head towards the front door. "Troy! Can you evacuate everyone out of here?"

"Okay!" he answered me. I heard footsteps running away from the door. Lionel ran over to us.

"How is it?" he asked.

"The enemy's still alive," Alex muttered.

"How'd you know?" I quickly asked. He pointed back into our room and saw a shadow moving in the smoke. I guess he's right. She's still alive. As the smoke cleared up, we noticed that she had grew black wings. Her cups shattered a little, and she was glaring angrily at us.

"Why don't you two sit still and die?" she yelled at us.

"I guess we have no choice..." Lionel sighed. He handed us a piece of card. "There, it's yours now."

We looked at the blank pieces of cards. As our enemy closes in, the card glew a little. Remembering Louis' story, I focused all my energy in the card. Alex began to do the same. We glow a little as our forms began to change. We both grew a muzzle and a fluffy orange tail. We also grew orange fur on our body, white on the belly side, and black on our paws and tip of our ears. I looked at Alex and saw what looked like a fox. He also sees me as a fox. As our enemy began to strike us, we nimbly dodged the blow. I noticed that the fox's physique has given me an incredible amount of agility and flexibility. I crushed the card and my weapon appeared. From the tips of my paws to my elbows are metallic gauntlents and from my hind legs to my knee are metallic grieves, both serving the purpose of attacking and protecting. These weapons are pretty light and didn't lower my mobility. The metal has an ivy design engraved on it. I smiled softly before I retaliate. The winged lady was a little surprised by my sudden attack. I don't know how, but somehow I knew her weakpoints. I targeted those points and attack with all my might. My punches and kicks hit her directly. She flinched and was send back by my last kick.

"How's that?" I happily taunted her. She chuckled and pulled a cable from the ground. Something behind me extended and tripped me to the ground. I landed really hard on the wooden floor, hitting my head on the counter also. I cringed in pain as she drew close. My body couldn't respond at that moment. Just as she were about to attack, an orange fox smashed a long rod on her head and spun around, hitting it on her face once more. The rod I saw looked like a mage's rod, with a green orb attatched on the end he use to hit her. The fox held out his paw to me.

"You okay?"

"Thanks, Alex," I sighed in relief. I took his offer and was pulled back on my feet. We saw her holding her head. She's dizzy at the moment. We looked at each other's eyes. In our mind, we had the same plan. Full force. We smiled and nodded. We quickly ran towards the enemy and hit her with everything we got. Alex also blasted her with several elemental magics that I think he finally remembered. It seemed like a matter of minutes until our foe is finally defeated into the shadow. We panted and smiled. We won.

"Very well done," Lionel's voice appeared behind us. We spun and saw him clapping his hand to us. "You two made a great team."

"Thanks," I smiled back. "So, how do I turn back?"

"I suggest that you stay like that until your wounds healed up. So, have you made up your mind?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I'll take the job."

He smiled back at us and ruffled our head fur.

"Now that's what I wanna hear," he chuckled.

"By the way," Alex interrupted our conversation. "If you said that I want to be as strong as you, why didn't you just kill her yourself?"

I had to admit it. He has a good point there. I stared angrily at the older man.

"Well, I wanted to know how capable you guys are in situations like this," he smiled back. "If things were a little serious, I'd be helping you guys."

"Hello! Earth to Lionel!" I yelled back. "If you hadn't notice, Eric was terribly injured, our front door was torn down, she completly demolished our apartment..."

"Honey!" mom's voice sounded from the hall. "What happened? Are you okay?" I heard a few more footsteps when I saw our parents looked inside the room, completly shocked of what they saw.

"And here's the last reason!" I finished my statement.

"Well, look on the bright side," Lionel tried to lighten the mood. "All your belongings are in a steel cabinet."

"Yeah! Except my computer!" I glared at him. I groaned as I felt my head starting to ache. I took another glance around our apartment. The living room had a pool of blood lying on the center of the room. Next to it, several bullets rolled slowly towards the telephone cable that tripped me in the fight. The couch was swiss-cheese, along with the easy chair, coffee table, and TV. The kitchen appliances were ransacked and food were scattered on the ground. And, if you sniff really hard, you can smell anchovies in the air.

'When did I buy that?' was the first thing that popped up in my mind. The bathroom was flooding because of the explosion. My room was black all over. There was nothing left of my bed. The cabinet was bent. Not demolished, but bent. A pool of water from the ice that clogged the bazooka attack sits nicely next to what remains of my computer desk and it's accesories. All the windows in my room were shattered. I sighed heavily and glared back at Lionel.

"I hope you guys have an explanation for this..." dad sighed and shook his head. "Especially you two..."

"Us?" Alex gulped.

"Yes, both of you," dad looked at us. He doesn't seem to be surprised to see his two sons turning into foxes.

"Aren't you gonna ask us how we become foxes?" I raised my hand, with the gauntlents still equipped.

"Don't change the subject, Michael," he glared at me. I felt a cold air running down my back to my tail.

'Wow, dad can really tell his kids apart,' I thought to myself. As I was about to open my muzzle, the rest of the gang appeared from behind.

"Guys! Are you okay?" Mei yelled. She stopped and saw my father glaring at us.

"Michael Xavier Stone..." his voice began to rumble. "You'd better explain the situation this instant..."

Though his voice was low, I felt tremendous amount of energy flowing to it. I gulped softly and quivered a little, afraid of his authority towards me. I had no choice but to retell the story, starting from the anonymous e-mail, ending with them entering the demolished apartment.

"D-does it sound crazy?" I stammered.

“Crazy?” dad sighed. “Nothing surprises me now.”

“Then why do you look and sound so angry?” I folded my ears back.

“Because, I’m worried about my two sons.” My ears immediately went back up on hearing that. “One of my son have died once, and the other was attacked and now having an amnesia. Isn’t it a parent’s job to get worried about this?”

“Sorry…” I folded my ears again.

“Sorry…” Alex copied my action. He twirled the fur on his tail with his paw.

“So what do we do now?” I sighed.

“I think, it’s time for us to move…”

We all looked up, very surprised.

“Already?” I whined. “But it hasn’t been two weeks yet…”

“Yes, son. We’re moving,” dad sighed.

“As soon as we finished paying for the damages, we’ll leave this place,” mom continued. We stared each other in the silence.

“You might want to pack your stuff now…” dad ordered us. “I know everything’s charred, but at least some of your belongings still okay. We’ll replace the broken ones.”

We all sighed heavily and the room became more uncomfortable. I dismantled my gauntlets and grieves and returned them into cards. Alex did the same to his staff. We went to our room and started packing everything into boxes. With my new vulpine ears, I could hear Mei’s footsteps coming this way.

“You’re really leaving?” she asked us.

“I guess…” I sighed. I stood up from my box of books and walked over to Mei.

“I know we haven’t known each other for a while, but… thanks for being friends with me,” I whispered.

“You’re welcome…” she sighed. Nick walked over to us.

“Let’s go home…”

Mei nodded and followed him, along with Lionel and Troy, outside. They left our apartment in the same awkward silence.

‘Is this really happening?’ I sighed heavily and looked down to the ground.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 10

Hunter

The room was filled with heavy atmosphere.

"I... never thought you had such terrible past," Mei looked at us.

"What's done is done," I replied. "At least no one got seriously hurt."

"You died..."

"But I came back, right? That's all that matters."

"Alright..." Mei smiled softly. "Sorry for being too curious about your past."

"It's okay," I smiled back. I was immedieately held tightly by Alex who was sitting next to me.

"Thank you..." he cried softly. I just smiled and rubbed his head.

"If it's alright with you," Louis said, "I'll explain all the details about what you encountered today and 13 years earlier."

"Start," Alex sniffed as he calmed down a bit.

“Do you know about dimensions?”

“Like the ones in math?” Mei asked. Louis just nodded.

“If you study deeply in that specific subject, you’ll know that there are a lot of dimensions in this world, four of which we have known: length, area, volume, and time. Those dimensions corelate with each others, creating the universe we live now.

"As you know, every action we do coresponds with other events. Every result will create a universe of its own, resulting a large amount of parralel universes."

"Uh... you lost me there," Alex scratched his head.

"It's like buying ingredients, right?" I asked. "What we buy determines the meal we will have."

"Exactly!" Louis smiled. "Now, let me continue. If even one of the dimension receive some sort of distortion, it will create a major disturbance on the balances of the universe, creating a massive rift hole between them."

"Now, I don't get it," I held my head.

"It's like making a soup using the ingredients for a steak," Nick explained. "It's completly impossible."

"Uh... I still don't get it," Alex looked confused.

"To put it the easy way," Tony pushed Nick aside, "if we destroy the balance, something bad is gonna happen."

"Okay, you translate for me, please," Alex immedietly stood up and sat next to him. "Can you continue, Louis?"

"Uh... Okay..." Louis stared at him. "So anyways, those distortion also take a more physical form. We call those forms fiends. And if left alone, it could tear the entire existance in this dimension.

"That's why some people with special trainings come together and decided to create an undercover job. We call ourselves Hunters. We take care of the physical forms by eliminating them one by one.

"However, being a hunter is very risky. Depending on the Fiend we encounter, we could lose a limb, blood, or organs."

"Wow, sounds like a dangerous job..." I thought out loud.

"You don't know the half of it," Lionel replied. "Most hunters even died in the fight."

"Most?" Mei asked.

"85.7% to be precise." We gulped at the large percentage.

"Don't scare them like that," Louis sighed. "It'll give them nightmares."

"Too late," Mei trembled. Louis and Lionel just chuckled.

"That's not funny!" Mei pouted.

"So anyways," Louis smiled, "hunters are placed all around the world in secrecy. We also have to dispose of them inconspiciously. But most of the times, we have to dig informations from the streets. That's where most of the times our jobs helped. As a police officer, I can get info from the stations for murder cases thats related with Fiends."

"Speaking of police officer and job," Nick interrupted, "aren't you gonna be late for work?"

"Oh yeah!" Louis started to panic. He immedietly stood up and ran out the front door after grabbing his keys. We all chuckled at his reaction.

"Well, I guess I'll be countinuing his explanations," Lionel smiled.

"No need," Mei replied. "I think we get the big picture already."

"Oh..." Lionel stared at the Chinese girl.

"And lemme guess," she continued, "you want us to be hunters right?"

"H-how'd you guessed?" Lionel's eyes were struck opened.

"Simple, you've been staring at us all this time," Mei deduced. "It indicates that the certain details that you're telling us is actually to find out if we have any reactions to it. And seeing that we've already seen Michael's techniques, I'm guessing that you guys sees his potential as a hunter."

We were completely dumbfounded. I can't believe she could come up to something like this in such a short time.

"Am I right?" Mei asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes," Lionel replied. "Your deducing skills are quite, uh... unbelievable."

"Thanks," she smiled. "I get that a lot."

"Well, Michael," Lionel stared at me. "What do you say?"

I wasn't certain on what to answer. If I accept this offer, it means I have to face the dangerous creatures. But if I decline, well, not much will change. I really don't want to fight if I can. But I also want to protect Alex since those things are attracted to us.

"That's okay," Lionel sighed. "Take your time. It's a very hard decision to make. I'll give you guys a week to think about it, okay?"

"Yeah..." I murmered. All of us stood up and head towards the door.

"Sorry for intruding," I apologized.

"It's okay," Lionel smiled back. "I didn't think we have to tell you this quickly."

"Can I have one more question?" Mei asked.

"What is it?"

"Does those fiends send e-mails before they strike?"

Lionel, Nick, and Tony just laughed hysterically.

"What?" Mei glared at them.

"N-no, nothing," Nick tried to hold back his laughter. "It's just that, how could something like that be a tech genious?"

"Well, I was just asking," Mei pouted.

"So what gave you the idea they could use computers?" Lionel caught his breath.

"Four days ago, I received a threatening e-mail from someone," I explained. " Then it started to count down like a ticking time bomb."

"Time bomb?" Tony raised an eybrow.

"Well, I've never heard about any fiends that uses technology before," Lionel rubbed his chin. "Any other infos?"

"If it's like a time bomb, it's supposed to detonate today."

"And that fiend attacked us today," Nick added. "No wonder you asked that."

"But, that's strange," Tony mumbled. "How could the two be connected. Is it just pure coincidence?"

We all thought deeply of the possibilities, and came up with no answers. We all sighed and shook our heads.

"Let's try to think about it later," Lionel said. "Right now, we..."

Just as he were about to finish his sentence, something in my pocket rang and vibrated out loud. We jumped and were completly surprised. I took the object out of my pocket and held it in front of me. The small device looked like a white PDA with three vertical stripes in the middle. The screen was glowing red with the words RED ALERT.

"What's that?" Alex asked me.

"It's dad's security pad," I explained. "It's like the apartment's watch dog."

"How'd you have something like that?" Nick asked.

I patted my other pockets. My cellphone was nowhere to be found. "I must've thought this was my cell."

"Well, what does it say?" Tony asked.

"RED ALERT."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means, someone in our apartment, armed and very dangerous, high chance that someone's already injured," I explained. I immedietly realized, someone broke into our apartment. I dashed quickly towards my home. The others followed a few seconds after.

'Mom, dad, please be okay...' I whispered under my breath.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE CHAPTER 9

Resolution

Note: This chapter is the third part of what happened 13 years ago and will be retold in a 3rd person view.

"You're not taking any victims, Death!" the wolf growled, showing his canine teeth. His eyes burned with hatred as he gazed upon the skeleton's eyes.

Death himself stared the lupine warrior. He was confused of his actions. It shows no fear towards him. Instead, it shows a burning desire to kill him. As death chuckled, the wolf lunged forward and tried to hack him down in such a high velocity. Death, knowing that he couldn’t avoid the attack, blocked it with the scythe’s pole. The sound of metal hitting metal soon followed the rhythmic attacks between the two. The family stayed on the corners of the room, avoiding all the attacks that could hit them. The wolf ended his flurry of attacks with another vertical hack. The sword imbended itself almost half way of the pole. The wolf then kicked the skeleton murderer, sending him to a wall behind him. The wolf then took another defensive position againts him.

"Impressive..." Death grinned. "Your skills are quite interesting..."

The wolf just gazed upon the heartless murderer.

"This is the fourth time I'm surprised today," the skeleton shook it's head. "I must say, today is quite exciting. But now, we must part."

The wolf flinched at the last sentence and quickly dashed forward. He slashed the creature, but he wasn't quick enough. Death easily dodged the attack and flew away through the opened window into the darkness. The ice walls slowly melt away, and the exits are opened again. The wolf sheathed his sword to his back and turned to the family.

"Is everyone okay?" he panted.

"N-no..." Marsha sobbed. Her tears covered her cheeks.

"Who's injured?" the wolf panicked.

"He's not injured! He's dead!" Marsha yelled. The wolf's muzzle were gaping as the mother was comforted by her husband. He then walked towards the small child and bent down.

"Can you tell me where he is?" he whispered. The small boy just sobbed as he point the dining room. "Thanks..." the wolf rubbed his head. He then slowly stood up and walked towards the room. He saw a limp body in the middle of the room. The pool of blood surrounded the small body. He sighed and slowly walk towards him. He then chant some words before the room was filled with light once more. As the light covers the boy, his wounds slowly began to close. The boy soon coughed out loud which gain everyone's attention. The family ran towards the room and found the boy in the wolf's arm. His wounds have closed, only leaving huge scars on his front and back. The family was deeply shocked of the scene.

"Don't just stand there," the wolf spoke out. "We need to take him to a hospital. He suffered a major blood loss."

"Ah, okay," Peter ran out and started his minivan. The family and the wolf followed him and entered the car. The wolf took out a white cloak under his brown jacket and wore it over his body. He wore the hood, covering his lupine features. He wrapped the injured child with the jacket he's been wearing. It's warm now because of his fur and body heat. As they arrive the hospital area, the wolf opened the door and jumped out before it got the chance to stop. He dashed to the receptionist and yelled out loud.

"There's an emergency!" he shouted. "He's experiencing major blood loss!" The nurses nodded and escorted him to the nearest ICU, not paying attention to his lupine figure and tail. The wolf laid the boy to the bed before stepping out of the room. The doctors and nurses rushed in and took care of the rest. The wolf sighed and sat down on one of the seats. His ears perked up and heard heavy footsteps heading his way. Without looking up, he knew it was the child's family.

"How is he?" Peter gasped.

"In there," the wolf kept staring at his arms. They were trembling all the time. Seeing the pool of blood and touching the child's cold body reminded him of that time. He couldn't stop figeting. Those memories returned to him slowly.

"Mom... Dad..." he mumbled. His tears rolled down his muzzle and hit his paws. Marsha took notice of the lupine teen and sat next to him. Slowly, she reached to the teen and rubbed his back.

"Um..." she whispered. "It's okay..."

The wolf continued to cry as they wait for the doctors to exit the room. Finally, after waiting for an hour, the doctors stepped out.

"How is he, doc?" Peter desparately asked.

"He's stable now," the doctor read his notepad. "Clearly, the young man carrying him was right. He suffered a major loss of blood. Other than that, he seems fine, except for the scars on his front and back. According to me, they're still fresh. How did he get those anyways?"

"Oh, um..." Peter scratched his head.

"It's his birthmark," Violet lied. "Yeah! It always looked like that!"

"Um... Okay..." the doctor scratched his head. "Well, truthfully, something still bothers me... How did he lose so much blood? I don't see any wounds or anything."

"Um..." Violet started to lose her ideas.

"Well, that aside, he's still asleep. So if you want to visit him, try not to wake him up," the doctor walked away. Everyone entered the room to see a sleeping child with a blood infusion attatched to him. The heart meter shows a steady heart rate. Almost everyone was relaxed. The wolf immedietly stepped outside and sat down on the same spot.

"Hey," a man's voice was heard. He looked up and saw the family gazing at him.

"Thanks for saving him," Peter smiled. The wolf stood up and wiped his eyes. "Can you tell us your name?"

"Louis..." the wolf mumbled.

"Thanks, Louis," Mark pulled him into a tight hug. "You saved my grandkid."

Louis, who wasn't expecting a hug, was shocked. His muzzle was almost exposed to everyone in the hall.

"How can we ever repay you?" Violet's smile gleamed.

"J-just keep him safe," Louis stammered. "That's all there is."

"Oh, something bothered me," Marsha said. "When you cried earlier, you said mom and dad. Does that mean..."

Louis felt pain in his heart. He was constantly reminded of the tragic event at Christmas. His ears flattened and he began to cry again. Marsha felt awful and comforted the 19 year old.

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay..." Louis sniffed. "What happens in the past, stays in the past. The only thing I could do is move forward."

"I see..." Marsha sighed in relief.

"But..." Louis sighed, "at least I could tell you about their deaths."

The family listened closely to Louis' past as they wait for the time to pass.

...

The next morning...

Louis found himself asleep in the hospital room. He hasn't change his appearance from yesterday. Slowly, he reverted back to his human self. As he looked around, he was jumped by a boy.

"Shhh..." the boy in the mage costume whispered. "Don't wake them up."

Louis' eyes were shot open by the rude awakening. He smiled and placed the child on the ground. He slowly walked towards the door and exited. There, he was confronted by Mark and Peter.

"You're leaving?" Mark said.

"Yeah..." Louis replied. "I still have school and work."

"Can you do us another favour?" Peter stared at him seriously.

"Um... Yes, sir... What is it?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Can you take Alex with you?"

This really shocked Louis. As he was about to shout, Peter and Mark quickly silenced him.

"Shhh!" Peter paniced. "We don't want our wives to hear us." The both of them released him at the same time.

"Wh-why?" Louis looked at them questioningly. "I mean, why do you want me to bring him?"

"I was my decision," a little boy's voice appeared. Louis looked down and saw the kid. "I want to know how to use magic too!"

"Why would you want that?"

"I don't wanna see Michael got hurt because of me. I wanna become as strong as you so I can protect me and Michael."

Louis looked at the fathers.

"We're as surprised as you are," Peter sighed. "But we couldn't talk him out of it. Since you seem reliable, can you?"

"What about your wives?" Louis gave them a worried look.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," Mark chuckled softly. Louis looked at the child's eyes. He was dead serious. He sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'll do it," Louis replied the favour.

"Thanks," Peter smiled. "Well, we're counting on you."

"Let's go mister Louis!" Alex tugged the teen's cloak.

Louis chuckled at the child's enthusiasm. "Don't call me that. Just call me Louis."

"Okay Louis!" Alex smiled happily as the both of them walked towards the exit.

"Till we meet again..." Louis smiled back at the men once again. The fathers nodded as they watch the both of them leave.

"Well son," Mark patted Peter on the back, "let's try and find a reason."

"You're right, dad." Peter smiled back. He took one last look of his son's back.

'They grew up so fast...' the father of two smiled sadly. He followed his dad inside the room, waiting for the other one to wake up.