(Parts of this written by S1.)
"Wow," Abbey gasped as Marie caught the latest to arrive up on the story of the witches
and Marie Cruz, "to be honest I can't really see either group as heroes. The witches seem to
break every possible rule to defend the position that children are inherently good and
adults are inherently evil..."
She then paused for a moment.
"But Marie Cruz does not seem to be that much better," Alice picked up, "She has tortured
people, she has killed others, and she has pushed others away..."
"Mr. P has killed people," Marie reminded them, "remember that. Also remember that this
was a LONG time ago. The world that Marie Cruz and the witches lived in was very
different from the one we lived in today. You can not just say that Marie Cruz was bad
because she had killed people. Many of the humans and and those of "race" of "man" that
she had killed were vile attackers that had sought to unleash horrors on the world, and it is
likely that if the three witches had tried to unleash their curse on Rome rather then a then
small town on the very edge of what the Western world then considered "civilized" her
Godfather, Gabriel, would have killed them before they even had the chance to do what
they did."
"So, Marie Cruz and her Godfather largely sought to preempt most things before they
became worse?" Alice asked.
"In a way, but because gathering news back then was not like gathering news today, most
times they couldn't learn about many of the forces they would fight before they they
happened. And in fact, much of what Marie knew of the witches and their actions before
they did them was only possible through Marie's second sight, which is not necessarily as
certain as one would think. Marie didn't know entirely what would happen, and second
sight can only show those that happen what could happen. Various superstitious "seers"
would tell both Hitler and Stalin that they would conquer the Western world. Most of them
only showed a rather short sighted world... Hitler conquered the Western world from 1939
to 1942, after 1942, Hitler's Empire fell apart and was gone by 1945..."
"And the events of the war that destroyed Hitler's Reich ended up dividing Europe between
those that would support the USA and those that the Soviets conquered, which meant that
Stalin was never successful at conquered the world," Lawrence commented, "though, the
Cold War that resulted wasn't something that made the world better..."
Marie nodded, "we're getting distracted though from the point of the story."
"Sorry," Alice and Abbey spoke together, as their interruption was the cause for it.
Glass Marie sighed at her infinitely growing audience. 'I don't know if this makes things
easier or harder.' Now she had five cubs, and three adults now all listening... This was
proving to be a headache... Maybe it was better the way the game often altered reality... it
saved people from going stark raving mad.
Lilly had to ask, "Marie are you going to die?"
"Huh?" The blond blue eyed lupman pup in her black and red dress blinked dumbfounded
at the Carnelian colored twin.
"uh... if the game is killed, does that mean anyone with a connection or effected or altered
by the game will die too?"
Marie looked at her incredulous, "Of course not! The game is an INFECTION... it's killing the
disease for the cure, not killing the patient to cure the disease!"
The other pups looked at Lilly, "What do you mean 'killing the game'?"
Lilly shook her head, "I dunno."
Glass Marie sighed.
+++++++++
Amethyst led the pups into a living room area, partially with the hopes of letting them "veg
out" in front of the television for a while. She had left Bart, Jenny, Kevin, and Marcy in the
arms of their mother, and Abbey and Alice remained in the mirrorverse. The purple she
wolf, with some sparkling luster in her fur guessed they were searching for their sister.
Amy had departed for her shrine area with Zelipe tagging along. Amethyst didn't worry
about that, though it could be argued she didn't worry about anything. If they truly needed
supervision, one of the Omegas would take up the task. Amethyst's main concern was the
gem twins. She'd help the gem teens whenever possible (much to Garnett's annoyance
when she became "trapped" in Amethyst's bosom).
As they made their way in, they found the present Omegas dancing for nine very depressed
looking cubs.
"There has to be something we can do to make them happy," Jay said weakly.
Amethyst sighed at the sight of the Pride's cubs. While little could shake Amethyst's cheery
demeanor, the sadness radiating off the cubs came close. She then noticed how the cubs
were fascinated by the Omega's dancing. It did give Amethyst a slight idea.
"Maybe we can entertain them too," Amethyst said with a smile and took Martha and
Whitney's paws and joined in. The pups were close behind her.
Mary looked up slightly as stroked the fur on Moja's back to see Amethyst and all of the
gem twins joining in.
Amethyst began her dance, and the gem twins followed close behind. Amethyst began at
the center of the living room without even thinking about it, miracle or miracles avoiding
walking into the TV. The gem twins danced in a pattern that never repeated itself, twisting
about the omegas like wind.
Amethyst let her body do what came naturally as did the twins. The dance of chaos, the
dance of absolute freedom, not as living crystal as they had been, but they danced all the
same. The left the grieving cubs entranced at the hypnotic movements, forgetting their
sadness for just a little while, forgetting their loss for just a little while, leaving only the
dance to look upon.
Martha and her fellow omegas found the dance Amethyst and her charges were doing was
proving greater than the ones the Omegas were doing. Even her own daughters Giselle
and Gretchen moved so naturally, so enveloping, that Martha found herself following
THEIR steps.
The nine cubs eyes were all glued to the dancing gem wolves.
When Kaylee came in with her pups a short time later planning on playing the Wii console...
The moment she and her pups saw the dance they forgot all about that. And almost like
zombies they sat down on the floor the coach having been taken and just watched the
lovely dance, their own worries and problems forgotten for the time being.
As much as the gem twins themselves wished it, this dance couldn't last forever, they were
flesh and blood now, their muscled burned from use and now knew tiredness. But they
would dance as long as they could.
'Was Kurse evil?' Amethyst thought, 'Is it good that the witches' shadow is gone? Is the
world a better place without them? Yes. Yes. Yes.' But like the yacht victims who had been
turned into beasts free to express their vices without limit, Amethyst secretly admitted to
herself, if the circumstances had been different, she wouldn't have minded the beautiful
dance lasting forever.
+++++++
"Whatcha Doin' Amy?" The light pink male asked his sister at her little shrine built
specifically for her.
Amy said before ringing the bell, "I'm praying for families who no longer exist and people
with loved ones that no longer consciously know they even had. I'm praying the gods show
them kindness and mercy for the unwilling sacrifice they've had to make.."
Zelipe scratch his head, 'Ever since this mess with the Game started, sis' has been making
less sense than normal....' It made Zelipe almost wish he had paid more attention when his
sister had explained in depth her theology.
++++++++++
"Mistress, if you feel Yomato's wrongness upon you cost you being there for the deaths of
your best friend, then I'll gladly submit myself indefinitely to your service in raising and
protecting your-" Umeko began.
Penny turned at her once getting a face full of over-sized she-wolf bosom in the process,
"Now let's not go overboard here!!!"
With his mate Fran on one arm, Jensen looked at his packmates, and the police who had
fought so bravely at their side.
"To ALL of you..." He began, "June, Hope, Grace, Zack. Nicole, Alexandra, Isabelle, Megan,
Ashley, Margot. Chiyoye, and Yamato. And of course you too Millie. As your Alpha, I wish
to say here and now, that you honor the Big Bad Wolf Pack with your courage, dedication
and your sacrifice. Yet WE suffered in loses, so you the Pack, you honor us as well for your
own sarfice."
"Just doing our duty." Brian said simply.
"All the same, thank you." Jensen said.