Tamthis smiled at the new creation, one that he believed was now part of the same soul as he but as interestingly different as the other fox/wolf personas in the soul's 'room.' "You look splendid! Now come to us! Come help us fulfill Lord Karther's dream to transform the world."
The wolf-fox that had been Kyriel nodded in agreement. She swayed towards the other of her "kin" and sat down on one of the armrests of Tamthis' chair. Here, she truly felt that she and the other beasts were as one... or did she? The wolf-fox frowned. While she DID feel as if she was complete and knew her Self, she couldn't help but feel a small 'knot' deep down in her being, as if this wasn't as perfect as she thought it was. Tamthis noticed her expression and smiled. "Don't worry," he said, "You are just adjusting to the power and dignity that is our soul. You'll feel better soon enough."
The wolf-fox smiled, and pushed the worries over such a measly 'knot' out of her mind for the moment.
---
The effects of this encounter were not immediately apparent in the real world. The angels and Tamthis' servants were still fighting hectically with one another, with Tamthis - his expression blank - standing as if zoned out and Kyriel's body still lying slumped on the floor. Soon however Kyriel's body started to alter bit-by-bit at a slow pace. Her hips and torso was starting to become curvy, while her hair was gradually lightening and growing out. A similar thing was also happening at her tail-end, as small new tail stumps gradually began protruding out.
Vicki was the first to notice as one of Lucy's attacks pushed her nearer to Tamthis and Kyriel. Vicki gasped as she realized that Tamthis was not changing... but Kyriel was. The unconscious angel still looked mostly like her normal self, but there were signs everywhere on her that a new being was trying to emerge, one that shared uncanny resemblances to the still-standing Tamthis. Before Vicki could shout out a warning to the others, Lucy attacked her again and forced her to concentrate on defending. What could she do at a time like this?
An idea sparked in Vicki's mind, and she starting moving while clashing with Lucy, using the force from the struggle to inch towards a surprised Akane. Vicki pulled up one of her legs and pushed the wolf-angel away for a second. "Kyriel's in trouble!" she managed to shout out before Lucy came at her again. However, that was all that Akane needed to hear; she saw Kyriel and her slow transformation and knew that if nothing was done, everyone here would be in deep trouble. However, she couldn't let Jasmine see what was going on unless she wanted her to call her troops over.
Akane focused her attention on Luna and Erica, who were currently fighting troops considerably weaker than those that the other angels were fighting. "We've got a major problem here," Akane said through her mind, during one of the VERY few times that she was serious and determined after becoming a kitsune, "Kyriel's apparently failed at curing Tamthis. Her body's changing... Don't turn to look!" She mentally shouted this just as the two turned, almost leaving themselves open to attack, "Just trust me ok? I'm gonna get some help from Keiko, and will need you two to come in with me to save Kyriel... if we CAN save her that is." She grimaced, remembering her own experiences with being transformed. If even an angel as powerful as Kyriel succumbed to Tamthis' abilities could they, who despite the arduous training were still newbie angels due to lack of experience, be able to save her?
----
A sudden jolt interrupted Keiko while she was busy unraveling the thread of souls that controlled Tamthis' city. The city was visibly affected by the damage to the 'thread' as the walls acted less alive, while the townspeople acted more and more in confusion. However, the jolt broke Keiko's concentration, and she swore as she could feel the thread start to fix itself. "Damn it Akane," she said out loud despite her sister being in the palace, "What is it?"
Akane quickly informed Keiko and Julio through mindspeak about the recent troubles that appeared during the battle, sending them a mental image of Kyriel's changing body. "I think I'll need your help; I'm going inside Tamthis' mind with some of the angels, and need to maintain a link with you so I have enough strength to keep the angels safe from whatever transformation abilities Tamthis has."
Keiko was shocked by the events, and looked down at the floor. She had the same doubts as Akane; could they stand up to Tamthis, who downed an angel that literally had the power of two souls combined? If so, how? Still there wasn't any other option. They had to go in and save their sister; they promised to take car of her after all. "Ok then," she said mentally to her kitsune sister, "Let's start-"
"Hold on."
Keiko looked at Julio. While she could not visually see anything different about him, Keiko could feel that Julio was deep in contemplation. "What's wrong? Do you think this is a trap?"
"No, Tamthis isn't sane enough to think that deeply," Julio replied, "Damn, I should have seen this coming. How stupid of me!" He could feel Keiko looking at him with a questioning gaze, "Kyriel is a new soul, nothing more than a baby. She barely knows who she herself is yet, and was not even close to being ready to handle a guy who changes the "Self" of a person on a whim."
"She may not be her parents," Keiko rebutted, "But she has the memories of both T' and Janice right? Wouldn't that make her even better than us at fixing Tamthis? Hell, if she couldn't, I'm not sure that the other angels and me could do it..."
"She has memories yes," Julio said, his voice sounding more panicked due to the situation, "but she doesn't have the experiences to go with them. It's one thing to KNOW about something, and it's a completely different thing to UNDERSTAND how that something works." Keiko (and Akane through the link) were confused, and looked at him blankly. "Think of it this way: you practice to get better at a fighting style. Why? Because you might be able to read how to do the moves in a book, but you'll still be useless at doing them if you don't actually experience the motions. This is somewhat the same case: The situation is so bizarre and unusual, you'd pretty much have to have prior experience at being transformed in order to truly grasp Tamthis' power, ESPECIALLY if you're going into his mind."
"Keiko, tell him to hurry up!" Akane said hurriedly, "Kyriel's changing faster!"
"Look," Julio continued, "Kyriel is in a mess because she has no clue who she is; she remembers T' and Janice and tried to make a purpose for herself through those memories, but that isn't HER purpose; she thinks of herself more as an amalgam than a single being. If you let her just rely on memories, then what would make her choose her human and angel memories over the ones that Tamthis is probably injecting into her, especially since he obviously has a stronger influence in his own mind? Keiko, Akane, you guys NEED to remind Kyriel of her own Self if you want to save her; remind her of what makes her not a piece of Tamthis, not an amalgam of T' and Janice, but Kyriel the angel."
Keiko nodded. "I understand," she said, impressed with the depth of knowledge that Julio portrayed. While she already respected Julio, she had also underestimated him; the 2000 years of experience and knowledge allowed him deeper insights than she realized. "Ok Akane, I'm linking up to you. Get the others ready."
----
Akane felt a surge of energy as she felt Keiko's soul connect with hers, allowing them to strengthen their already-strong magic. She looked at Luna and Erica. How could she free them without alerting Jasmine...?
She smiled, showing the grin that Kitsunes were (in?)famous for. Sure the idea would put more pressure on Jasmine, but she's an angel. Besides, Akane wanted to teach that arrogant jerk a lesson anyways.
Akane channeled her strengthened magic at the enemies that the soldiers Luna and Erica were fighting. She "grabbed" onto the magic that commanded them (which was weakened due to Tamthis' unconsciousness), slowly twisting it until it had given the group a new objective: Attack Jasmine. Luna and Erica were perplexed - but relieved - when the enemies suddenly turned and ran... towards Jasmine, who was already fighting Roberta. They heard Akane shout at them before they could run to help. "She can handle it," Akane said, "They'll keep her busy enough so she won't notice Kyriel. You both need to get into Tamthis' mind, and Keiko and I will help you."
---
"Well this is it," Keiko said nervously, after moving right outside the city entrance and lying down, "I'm going in. Wish me luck. Oh, and try not to get stepped on ok? I'd not appreciate coming back to see you as nothing more than tick goop."
Julio mentally sighed and smiled. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Good luck in there."
Julio could barely make out Keiko's fox-shaped spirit coming out of her body before it disappeared, zooming straight into the castle and into Tamthis' mind to join her brethren.