Desert Foxes: The enemy of my enemy...
Alexandra did the unthinkable to accomplish her master's wish, she left her side. She had
to, it was the only way, 'I hate to do this master, I truly do, but if this is what you desire,
then I shall precisely as you ask.' Truth of things were, Alexandra was relieved, and
actually a little happy that Tamthis was apparently a usurper. However, at the same time,
she felt, regret? Tammie had seemed like such a nice kitesune, she and her friend. And if
her 'second body' opposed Tamthis, this meant that Tamthis' second body was their alley,
Janice wasn't it?
Alexandra had never seen any part of T's battle with Karther, and had been in no position
to be told anything about it, or learn anything of it. So, from the servant girl's point of
view, there was no reason that might not be able to trust Janice as well. After all, Tamthis
had said undoubtedly that her second body and the djinn were allies against their city.
Alexandra started as she looked this way and that to make sure no one was looking her
way. 'Our city. Master Karther can't possibly mean... to let the djinn destroy it and steal
away more of our people would he? No, no! That's silly! That would be insane.' Indeed,
Alexandra had a rather ideal image of her master.
Triple checking to make sure no one was watching her, including the statues, Alexandra
said a couple words in arabic, she walked -through- the floor as if it was water and
vanished from sight with no traces of having been there. Of course the words had been
arabic, languages likes english were only strange tongues that she heard in her dreams.
She found everything as her master had said it would be (of course), the squarish tunnel
leading in a straight direction west, the torches lighting and extinguishing as she past.
True, Alexandra hadn't been told -how- to find the djinn army, but she had faith in her
master, and figured they would find her.
++++++++++
Tamthis came into the house sized bed chamber she (he as she shifted species and
gender she came into the room) shared with Karther, the illusion of Alexandra mere stood
aside, not having been given complex programming both due to Karther's lack of power
and it being a quick fix to keep Jennifer from noticing the two conspirators' discussion.
The furniture couldn't have been more impressive, the mattress and sheet more soft,
everything right out of an Arabian fairy tale. Karther would have found the state of things
to his liking if not for his own current state.
"My love," Said Tamthis kindly to Karther, "I had forgotten to help you relax again after
you imparted you knowledge of our new enemies upon us, I apologize for this my love, I
hope you can forgive me."
Karther was supposed to be prince of smoothing his tongue, saying just what to say while
thinking the complete opposite. But the hate he had felt for any being in the past was now
a grain of sand in the desert of loathing he felt towards Tamthis right now.
One of his creations, his -property-, had risen above him, and had -dared- take away his
authority and effectively switch places with him! Absurd! Absurd! He was Karther! Prince
among the desert foxes! King now technically! (Even if the way as which would leave him
with murderous rage for all of his life). This was his kingdom! His domain! It had belonged
to his kind long before humans had started migrating out of Africa like some disease. And
now one of those humans he had turned into his plaything, had the gall to make him into
his play thing. The fact Tamthis was ultimately still but following Karther's programming
to it's local conclusion in harmonic response to her previous brainwashing was lost utterly
on the kitesune king. And finally, hearing Tamthis -apologize- for forgetting to make
him catatonic again... Karther's ego had had enough, and finally snapped.
"YOU!" Karther snarled, not caring how pathetic it sounded coming out of a vixen's mouth,
"YOU'VE STOLEN EVERYTHING FROM ME! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU IN A WAY I NEVER
THOUGHT WAS POSSIBLE FOR ME TO HATE ONE CREATED OUT OF AN INFERIOR BEING LIKE
YOU WERE! You've stripped me of my power, my authority, my dignity! And you dare
apologize for forgetting to steal away my wits again?! I -pray- the djinn scatter your spirit
to the four winds and beyond!"
Tamthis was stone silent during Karther's rank, finally the great wolfen male asked
quietly, "So, you are not happy my king?"
"No I'm NOT HAPPY you idiotic-" Karther realized that he just doomed himself mere
second after utterly those words. Tamthis' shadow fell over him, as the giant wolfen nine
tailed wolfen loomed over his much smaller vixen frame. "No, no, no, I didn't mean it like
that-! You are-"
"Then I have failed you my master." Tamthis said in a depressed tone, "I had hoped I had
succeeded in bringing you happiness as is my one purpose as your queen... now you
reveal to me that I was in error. I shall correct this at once."
"No, no, no, get away from you -wolf-, get away, get away-" Karther inch away from
Tamthis on the emperor sized bed.
"Jennifer, please hold our distraught king in place for one moment, just a moment."
Karther was completely caught off guard when four of the six Shiva vixen's arms closed
around her wrists and hoisted her up. "Long have I been confused about many, many
things my love, some things did not seem right, others did not seem quite wrong, but I
realize precisely what must be done to give you the happiness you desire, deserve, and
have earned my king." Tamthis said without a trace of sarcasm or irony.
Karther had never been on the recieving end until recently, but he knew precisely what
was coming. Fear and anger clashed and mixed like a maelstrom in his soul. "NO! DON'T
YOU DARE! I COMMAND YOU NOT TO! I COMMAND YOU!"
"Just as you told me that I did not mean those words... in my dreams... I know realize
here... in reality... that you also do not mean those words... it is my duty to bring you
ultimate happiness, and now I realize WHEN I experienced ultimate happiness, and that
was when I served you utterly and completely, as you carried the heavy mantle of
leadership by yourself and only yourself... now I see what needs to be done to fulfill my
reason for existence."
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! DAMN YOU ALL I COMMAND YOU LET ME GO!"
"She will in a moment, but first look into my eyes my king." The wolf kelt down to be eye
level with him.
"Go to Hell!"
"LOOK UNTO MY EYES GORGEOUS!"
Hearing the unfamiliar adverb used to address him was all it took to get Karther's
attention, and that one look into the wolf titan's eyes, was all it took.
As Karther had once done with Tammie, Tamthis now did with Karther, gentle stroking her
fur, her figure becoming a visual feminine ideal, with no trace of ever having been male,
her face followed suit, not only her gender, but her very identity being washed away, it
was no longer a female version of Karther, but a completely different vixen staring into
Tamthis' eyes.
Karther felt it all leaving him, like sand running through his forepaws, all his hate and fear,
flushed into the sewer system and out into the ocean. All his masculine thoughts falling
into a bottomless black pit along with his desire to rule, replaced totally by a desire to
serve and only know pleasure and only please.
"You do not fear me."
"I do not fear you my love."
"You are free of the mantle and burden of leadership."
"I am free of the heavy weights of kingship my dearest."
"You know only pleasure, you seek only pleasure, I give you pleasure. You know the joy of
serving, the happiness, the glee to be of use to another, you do not mind, you can not
mind, it is all you are, and all you have been and all you shall be."
"I seek only to know the constant pleasure of being you my lord, it brings me total bliss. It
is what I am, who I am, what was before doesn't matter and thus never occurred." She
spoke in a dreamy, peaceful voice, in a moment, the tiny flame inside her that was Karther
flickered out and died.
"I alone need bear the heavy weight of leadership of this king, you, may know nothing but
peace and happiness forever."
"I do not envy such a heavy burden my lord, I am glade to be but your love." The vixen
said in total honesty.
Jennifer released the vixen, who crawled on all fours up to her master and stopped up,
running her hands against his muscular chest.
"How do you feel Kathy?" Tamthis asked the vixen.
"I feel happy mi'lord." She vixen said smiling up at him.
"Then I have accomplished my duty." Even in the frenzy of preparing with the war with the
djinn, the vixens and wolvens through out the kingdom, all took a moment of pride
hearing upon how their king had ascended to a state of perfect happiness, and Tamthis
how now assume the heavy load stone of leading them to victory in the coming war
him/herself.
With Karther no longer, the illusion he had cast of Alexandra vanished, catching the
attention of Tamthis.
"Kathy... where is Alexandra?" Tamthis asked calmly.
"I don't know," Kathy responded honestly, now lacking the self motivation to tell her
master about the magic cave though she had no intention of lying about it or Alexandra if
the questions came up.
Not thinking Karther would have ever been able to commit any act of deceit upon Tamthis,
the wolfen shifted to her vixen form for a moment (much to Kathy's dislike), and she
began to shift slowly through the senses of her people. 'There? No. There? No. There? No!'
Where could she be? For several minutes Tamthis was silent as he went through the
senses of all his people until finally. "Alexandra is missing..."
Kathy scratched the back of her head, "Naw, she went outside the city, bet that's why you
can't see her."
Tamthi yelled, "What?! No! Foolish girl! Doesn't she realize the genies?! They will find her
and steal her away from us as they had done with the family I sent out in the name of
peace! LUCY!"
"Yes Mi'Lady?" The faux angel of sand appeared in the bed chamber.
"Alexandra is outside the city!"
"Oh no!" Those solid black orbs widened in dismay.
"Yes! Go! Quickly! Find her and retrieve her at once! Then we shall help her into the new
state of our people."
"Yes Mi'lady!" Lucy vanished in a mass of sand.
Kathy giggled, she couldn't wait until Alexandra was just like her!
++++++++++
And Alexandra neared the exit to the long, long LONG tunnel away from the city that was
her home, she felt a moment of pain in her chest. She wondered if she was dying. But the
pain past a moment later. She looked at herself, and saw nothing different, and felt
nothing different... except... she almost felt like.... something was missing now. She shook
her head, her master had given her a task that was more important than any he had ever
given her, or given any of his vixens, she would not fail him.
Finally, she reached the end of the tunnel and walked up the steps, the torches going dark
as she departed. To the outside observer, it looked like the sand was put water and she
stepped out of the sands, not a grain of the material on her.
She looked upon the endless desert, looking the same in all directions, she chose to keep
going the direction the tunnel had been going and marched, just hoping the genies
noticed her before she died of dehydration... or froze to death.
++++++++++
"Commander Jasim!" abu Haj, "Our scouts have sensed one of the foxes, alone, in the
desert again! This one just appeared in the middle of planes nowhere near the city! It
appears to be alone! What are thy instructions?"
"BAW!" Jasim spat, "Karther takes me to be a fool! That fox is nothing more than a trap!
Ignore it! If we are lucky then T and his band of violations of tradition will fall for it, and
learn the price of their impulsiveness! IGNORE IT!"
abu Haj bowed, "As you command sir, it is not to no longer be thought about."
++++++++++
An hour later, Alexandra was beginning to feel the chill, she was a desert kitesune of
course, a fennec, but the cold seemed to get worse and worse as she marched, wondering
where the genies were that had so quickly snatched up her innocent fellows. She dreaded
dying alone in this desert beyond the only home she remembered, the thought of failing
her master so utterly was unthinkable.
'Just need to make it... to dawn.'
++++++++++
Tabra never knew how not to take a jab, "Technically, you, we, don't -have- a type
anymore."
"Oh you!" Tabra heard her, their voice laugh, "Will you not spoil my moment of
awesomeness?"
"She's got you there!" The two kitesune in the room both fell on their sides and belly
laughed too, their tails waving everywhere... causing some sand to change color and some
flowers to pop up, Tabra was glade this place was Tamthis' senses proof. "That was a riot
on her part!"
"Okay, okay! I need to work on my sense of humor!" Tabra consented. 'For what time we
have left.'
She heard her voice say, "It's not gonna go away is it?" 'And I said don't ruin the moment.'
'Seems like we can't really hide anything from each other now. I guess I just haven't had
much to laugh about lately.'
'You were the one who said we needed to open that door.'
'Yes, I did.'
"Would you mind letting us in on the discussion?" One of the kitesune asked, apparently
Keiko and Akira thought it amusing to repeatedly play switch-a-roo making it hard to tell
which kitesune was which.
Then the angel vixen started. 'What is this... feeling?' Janice thought. 'It feels... familiar...
we're sensing someone whose close to one of us... I don't recognize it... it must be you...
who is it? Whose face pops into your head with this feel? Don't think about it, just let it
come like you would any memory...'
The image that popped up was of a vixen in harem clothing with a slight smirk to her calm
demeanor. "Alexandra!" Their body exclaimed.
The two kitesune asked at the same time, "What about her?"
"She's close." Tabra/Janice said, "Well, close enough to trip our senses...I wired this place
to be proof against a kitesune's senses so that's why the two of you can't feel it. But what
is she doing out here? The kitesune city is nowhere near here. She's all alone... it... she's
not doing so good... We have to help her... This could be a trap... I don't care, she's my,
she helped me and Tammie, this is my chance to help her...if that is your choice...." The
angel vixen looked at the two kitesune, "If we don't come back, tell Julio to 'get started' on
the other angels, he'll know what I mean."
"Gotcha!" Said the one that had to be Akira.
"Just be careful." The one that had to be Keiko added.
Janice/Tabra teleported out.
++++++++++
"Commander Jasim, our scouts report that the Nazarene had come to the Judas Lamb. And
there is a -powerful- entity coming from the kitesune city, shall we capture it?"
"As I knew that idiot would. No, let the Nazarene get a hard lesson about what his heroic
cost him. Intervene only after he is within a hair's breath of dying. And make sure to break
the slaves' enchantments -before- bringing them here."
"As you command."
+++++++++++
"Alexandra!" The vixen heard her name spoken from behind, she turned around, she saw a
vixen in silvery reflective armor, form fitting but hard and practical all the same. She had
wings, and was floating a dozen yards above the sand (Janice/Tabra had no intention of
being near the sand if this was a trap after all).
Alexandra looked at the vixen's features, so familiar, so important, who was it? Wait, it
had to be, "Janice? Janice is that you? What are you doing here? Why do you look like that?
The queen had gone mad! I am sure of it now! The master sent me to speak with the genie
army's leader, and only their leader. Please you have to bring me to them! Master Karther's
is depending on me! He has no one else!"
Janice/Tabra thought, this didn't feel like the kind of trap Karther would set, and Tamthis
would have sprung the trap the moment Janice/Tabra showed her face. Still...
"Remember when you were Tammia's watered down clone for a short time?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"And....I felt it was an honor for the short time it was, because it was to serve my master
in a way I never allowed to before... I was SPECIAL to him I thought...but... but the queen
has completely lost her mind! She has betrayed the master! She treats him like a pet rather
than working -with- him.." Alexandra stunned herself with what she just said, "Why....
didn't I see it like that before?" She asked herself sounding honestly confused.
Janice/Tabra now knew something wasn't right, but whatever it was, it was looking less
and less like a booby trap.
Alexandra shook her head, "Please! You must bring me to the leader of the genie army! It
is VERY important I speak with him! I have words for him by the master." This wasn't a
djinn, this was Janice, a vixen like her, one of Karther's people... but... all that chaos... with
the harem seemingly going mad... all those wolves before the castle was absorbed...
Alexandra was totally and utterly confused as she suddenly held her head. The only thing
holding it all together was that sacred command from Karther, the only important order he
had ever given her! She wouldn't betray his trust after finally gaining it.... not having a
single clue, that she was the only entity in creation to have EVER been given his trust.
"Please... Janice... whatever you done... whatever you've become... PLEASE... for the sake of
our master, help me."
Alexandra was no warrior, she had never been a warrior, if Janice chose to cut her down
she'd have no defense, and the possibly last hope for her master would be gone.
Janice/Tabra lowered themselves a few yards close to the ground, "Take you to the genie
army commander, is that you really want?"
Alexandra nodded her head vigorously, "Yes!"
Janice/Tabra sensed it, or rather her, but, the feeling they got... was so mangled...
"Alexandra!" Riding the desert winds, Lucy having sensed Alexandra at last doubled timed
it (and wondering how she just appeared like that but not senses any power source strong
enough to any of the djinn). "Alexandra! There you are! What are you doing here?! King
Tamthis and Lady Kathy are worried sick about you!"
Her voice was carried over the desert winds even before her arrival. Then the winds carried
her to the spot where she sensed her fellow vixen, and saw who was with her. Her first
reaction was.
"You found King Tamthis' secondary body! Oh Alexandra you clever girl! You've done
wonderful! The King and lady shall be so pleased!"
"No..." Alexandra whispered shaking her head slowly.
Janice/Tabra, stared in shock and dread at what they -knew- had to be Lucy... but at the
same time, look so spiritually unnatural. The freed slaves had given a description of Lucy,
but it was another to see it in person.
Her sand colored fur and feathers, those eyes as black as oblivion, and the diamond where
her navel once was.... Janice/Tabra thought of her sisters. Yes, Lucy somewhat looked the
part but, her expression, the movement of her muscles, her tone of voice, all seemed, off.
And what Janice/Tabra saw with her spiritual sight, was ugly. It was like someone had
taken her spirit and treated it like a patchwork doll! Janice/Tabra felt a wave of discomfort
flow through her being close to her. Janice/Tabra felt ashamed at feeling this way about
one of her sisters but, at the same time she couldn't help it. Her first thought was to just
grab Alexandra and RUN.
'If we grab Alexandra and teleport now would Lucy be able to follow us? I don't know, but
if we take Alexandra with us without first looking for a 'wire' or 'bugs' as cops would say,
we'll be inviting the enemy through the front door. She's being honest. I know she is, but
she could have been tagged without her knowledge, and we'd need to focus all our senses
for that.... and we can't risk that with.... her here.'
Still smiling (she never stopped it seemed) Lucy let the desert winds lower her near
Alexandra, holding out her hand, "Now come along spare body and Alexandra, you must
meet with King Tamthis personally, he's promised to fix both of your of all your problems.
You'll never have any confusing or conflicting thoughts again."
Alexandra was paralyzed. Scared of what to do, and scared of what NOT to do.
"N-no."
"Your king commands it, you can not 'say no.' " Lucy said as if kindly correcting a child on
a minor detail.
A bullet flew between the two, Lucy pulled her arms back as Alexandra took a step back.
Janice/Tabra reloaded the expended chamber in the revolver, "You know, I've found I just
never could trust automatics."
"Bullets and guns are cowards' weapons!" Lucy snarled.
"Humans once said the exact same thing about the long bow." Janice/Tabra said dryly.
'Can we just close enough to her to use cross to cure her? You can see her spirit, it's hasn't
just been altered by yours and the rest of your sisters were at first, it's been totally
violated! It'll take more than just a moment of contact to cure her, and she's not likely to
let us keep it in contact with her that long. We're going to have to do this the hard way.'
++++++++++
"We have to go up there!" Luna shouted, she felt it, they all felt it by now, Lucy, the feeling
they had of her was horribly mangled but it was Lucy... and they felt Janice/Tabra was with
her too, and they knew it would be to a tea party.
"Now hold on!" Julio said waving his hands, "I know 'T' is kinda reckless at times but
seriously I don't think you going out there will help much!"
"You think you can take us all on again?" Luna said to him intensely.
Julio returned matter of fact, "Two thousand plus years experience beats untrained power
says I can."
"Granted," Vicki said, "But do you really expect us to just sit here? isn't this why we all
made this choice in the first place? To -save- Lucy and Natalie?"
Julio answered, "And you'll get your chance! But if you all go rushing out there, not only
will you tip off the enemy about you four, but you'll going in even more half-cocked than
you'll already be!"
"What do you mean?" Erica asked raising an eye brow.
Julio almost kicked himself but said, "Another Angel showed up yesterday, name's Jasim,
and he brought along an ARMY of what you call genies to take down the kitesunes... but
genies .... they aren't known for their mercy... and this Jasim guy isn't that nice a guy to
people he doesn't deem 'worthy.' You guys are a walking violation of the angel's creed as
far as he's concerned. Only reason he hasn't attacked yet, is to give T and Janice a chance
to train you guys the best they can't.... so Jasim can watch you all -fail- so he feels
justified in just blowing up your friends if they get in the way... trust me.... it won't be a
pleasant assault."
"Violation?" Lisa asked alarmed.
".... T bent, some would even say broke some rules giving you guys the power to fight on
his level... he knows he's in hot water no matter which way this conflict turns out..."
"And what happens to us?" Lisa asked a little worried.
"You become functional, accepted weather anyone likes it or not, productive members of
angel society."
Lisa crossed her arms, "Even though we're the ones who decided to let this be done to us?"
Julio shrugged, "I'm not an angel...I don't know how they think. They'll figure Tabra
tempted you."
"Tempted?!" Vicki said out loud, "He was trying to scare us off every step of that road!"
Erica and Lisa looked at their eldest.
"Don't tell me you two didn't notice."
Erica shook her head, "It's not that, I just didn't think of it that way before..."
Luna was indignant, "Well! This is the choice -I- made, I may not have asked to be a fox
or a woman, but having my soul mutated was totally my -own- decision! Now I'm going
up weather any of you are coming with me or not!"
'Hothead,' Vicki thought, "Stop at once!"
Every muscle in Luna's body tightened. She didn't have a millimeter more. Her eyes rolled
over to her eldest.
"Tabra has more experience than any of us," Vicki said, "And if she asked us not to sortie,
then we'll abide by that, and that include you Luna, understood?"
Luna thought over everything Vicki had just said and finally, replied with a sigh, her
muscles suddenly no longer tightened in place, "You're right... I just wish we could do
something for her right now."
Julio said, "You can get back to practicing... you're going to need every bit of it in a few
hours...unless you guys intend to sit out while the djinn do all the work for you."
"Don't bet on it." Luna said simply. "But I'm seriously wondering how much a day's worth of
training is going to be any good against the fox bastard and his puppets."
Julio sighed, "It will be, if it's THE training... an emergency last resort for teaching angels
how to fight... last time it was used was right after the civil war among Angels started.
Mike and his loyalists never had a -reason- to know how to harm another entity before,
but they had to learn fast or they'd never have a chance to learn... "
"You don't sound thrilled about it." Erica observed.
"Your memories, and the you that makes you you, will be about the only part of you that's
still the same when it done."
Luna of course didn't hesitate, "When do we get started?"
Julio was taken aback of course, as was Lisa and Erica, Vicki didn't seem surprised and
seemed to have similar sentiments. "Not until T and Janice do, or do NOT come back, T felt
it was his duty to see it started, since he 'pushed' you into all of course."
"The only one who pushed any of us into anything was Karther." Erica said simply.
++++++++++++++++