August 9, 1689 - Night
Golgotha nervously rolled in her sleep as a vision that frightened even her assaulted her in her sleep.
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Sounds of battle echoed through the witches' manor. Golgotha, Gomorrah, and Gaal could all hear musket fire elsewhere in the manor and the roars of the Witch Pride could be heard outside, as well as two gravelly sounding roars. Before them was Marie Cruz, dressed in clothing chain-mail and a long black tunic over it. Emblazoned on the front of it was a bright red Maltese Cross, the emblem of the Knights Templar.
"This has gone far enough," Marie spoke authoritatively, "Your villainy ends here!"
"Villainy!" Golgotha shot back, "at least we haven't killed people!"
"Perhaps not directly," Marie replied, "but then, children do have a knack for getting themselves in trouble."
"YOU LIE!"
"Childish thinking is how I lost MY eye, Goldwyn," Marie answered, "I speak from experience."
Marie then readied a white colored dagger, similar to one impaling the lifeless bodies of Herodias and Lilith on the ground behind Marie.
"And now you'll learn why most cats steer clear of aggressive dogs!" Marie spoke firmly.
"NO!" came Joella's voice as the girl came running, "there is no need for this fighting! Please stop!"
"JOELLA, NO!!" Golgotha shouted as Marie released the dagger on a direct line for the one eyed witch, but with Joella's rush to try and protect her "mothers" put the young girl in the direct line of the dagger's flight path.
The "ivory" blade cut through the geass like it was nothing an hit Joella squarely in the head, killing the girl almost instantly. Marie recoiled in horror, not intending to hit the girl. The hunter dropped her weapons.
"YOU MONSTER!" Golgotha roared and incinerated Marie in an instant.
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The witches then began moving down the stairs to find Linus in their kitchen with several unconscious child familiars scattered about the floor, Twilight shot through the chest laying dead at his feet, and Linus wrestling with Benjamin.
Linus was then incinerated on the spot, taking Benjamin with him.
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The witches then went outside and found a larger battle. Draco was circling the manor from the air, breathing down fire to keep the child familiars from focusing on any attacks and forcing them to attack one at a time through narrow corridors. Vatican had used his superior weight and size to break off Free's wings and arms and had batted Free into the thorn bushes where she became tangled.
The witches found a child familiar, who's geass had not been broken, who happened to be Lark, and then literally threw her at Vatican. Contact between the geass around Lark and the gargoyle made the damaged stone creature literally explode. Lark then began playing with the smaller pebbles.
The remains of Vatican didn't remain on the ground for long, as the witches raised them and hurled them at Draco, easily making contact. The remains of the gargoyle were hurled at the dragon until he was stoned to death.
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They found Katherine at the far edge of their property. There were a few unconscious child familiars near her, and the other Witch Pride male was on the ground nursing wounds to his shoulder and legs as Katherine actually used her smaller size and the maze of thorns and a nearby tree to her advantage. As she made contact with the tree though, the Felman was quickly incinerated.
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Golgotha shot up in her bed and looked around. Gaal and Gomorrah slept peacefully on.
"What troubles you, Mistress," came Herodias's voice as the black cat leaped onto the bed.
"The Dog will kill Joella if she stays here," Golgotha spoke.
"Do you win the fight?" Herodias wondered.
"Of course, but Joella would be dead.
"Perhaps a fitting sacrifice then," Herodias spoke, "You can always MAKE another Joella."
"NO!" Golgotha vowed, "The Lupman killed her once. I will not let her die again. Not for anything. Not for fate, not for victory. The Dog can not harm us. We are stronger then her... better then her... we do not need to lose Joella to win."
"Of course, Mistress," Herodias nodded in agreement.
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"The flaw of arrogance," Maddex sighed.
Marie-Eliza slowly nodded.
"The witches had suffered no defeat that stopped their progress in turning Glendale into their fantasy world," Eliza added, "and so like anyone who was never forced to stop, they began to feel they were invincible, and combined with their magic, they didn't feel that they had to make sacrifices."
"Ignoring all the things they were taught," Alice commented.
Again, Marie-Eliza nodded.
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Present Time
Mary and the Pride's quadruplets found themselves following Amy and Zelipe toward the Pack's library. When Martha had made the call to school the cubs went to school at, she had said that they wouldn't be in school for about a week while they dealt with some "personal tragedy". Martha had also assured the teachers that the Pride knew they were at Wolf Manor.
As they ascended the stairs, they came up to the main entryway statues at the top of the stairs. A large bronze male, with two sheaths (like the omegas) and bearing some physical resemblance to Jensen, stood at attention. One arms around the waist of a golden colored female statue with engravings that resembled the sun. The other arm was around the waist of a silvery blue female which had engravings of the various phases of the moon on it. At their feet was the offering that Amy had made earlier.
"So, uh, Amy, who do these three represent again?" Tatuli asked as she looked up a the three imposing Lupman statues.
"The male is Kira the consort to Sunny and Luna, as they have been nicknamed," Amy stopped to explain, "Sunny is the Lupman avatar of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. Luna is the feminine Lupman avatar of Amaterasu's brother, Tsukiyomi, the Moon God. Because of the rivalry between the siblings and actions taken by Tsukiyomi, the two refuse to see each other, which is why the sun is out in the daytime and the moon is out at night. To reflect this "argument" Sunny and Luna are placed on different sides of Kira, one side being day, and the other side being night."
"So a male disguised himself as a female and took a different male as a mate?" Tatuli asked.
"Yes," Amy answered, "Presumably from some interest in creating unity for Japanese Lupmen like Yamato and his mates."
"They didn't feel unified the other way?" Moja wondered.
"I would think so," Amy answered, "but it is a representation of our Pack structure. One male and multiple females."
"So there are some that are missing?" Nneli commented.
"Yes, from what I have been told was that the Pack didn't have the funds to commission the remaining two female statues," Amy answered, "when they are commissioned, one will represent Ame-No-Uzume and the other would represent Uke-Mochi. Ame was a friend of Amaterasu's that helped bring light back the world and Uke-Mochi is the food goddess who's... "methods" disgusted Tsukiyomi, and the male god killed her."
"So how would Japanese Lupman relate these conflicting things into a single Pack?" Tano asked curious.
"Largely that all of them desired the same being, commonly called the Monkey Prince, a minor sun deity, and would be represented by Kira, here. Sunny and Luna representing major deities are the closest, while the other two, being "lesser" would be further away. The conflict between the female avatar of Tsukiyomi and the Lupman avatar of Uke-Mochi would come from jealousy over their desire for the Monkey Prince."
"And why would Gods and Goddesses do such confusing things?" Mbili wondered.
"The business of Gods can always be mysterious," Amy answered simply, half sounding like she was preferring to keep the explanation private.
"So what the did the Goddess form of Uke-Mochi do that was to Tsukiyomi's disliking?" Mary asked.
"I am afraid the answer is not for the ears of children... particularly Christian children," Amy answered, with a sigh, "Perhaps when you are older and will not judge my entire religion for it, I will tell you if you are still curious."
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"So for nine months we're going to be seen as avatars of Shinto gods who don't like each other and are attracted to different god?" Luna asked, "I don't hate you, Sunny."
"I don't hate you either, Luna," Sunny answered, "You're my best friend."
"It's just the camouflage," Kira told them, "It's just how they see us."
"So I'm to let them see me as some angry god/goddess that killed someone else and in doing so pissed off my best friend?" Luna wondered.
"You can't stop them until after our pups are born," Kira told them.
"Will they be able to change with us?" Sunny wondered, her mind still wondering over the issues around being pregnant.
"Once they are born, they can switch back and forth, just like I can," Kira answered, "and could bring you two in when you wish to be with them."
"How will they know?" Sunny asked.
"They would feel your intent, just as I did when you made contact with me last night," Kira explained, "the major thing would be to instruct them not to be super mischievous and hold those that our not part of our family as art against their will for a long period of time."
"They could..." Luna began to wonder.
"Children will be children," Kira answered.
"This is all so confusing," Luna commented, "between how they see us and all the parental type things... it'll take awhile to get used to it all."
"You can't get away from it," Kira answered, "and I have met someone who could marry us and we have nine months to prepare for parenthood."
The mental images of Sunny and Luna that Kira saw slowly nodded.
"And besides, wouldn't every female like to be seen as a Goddess?" Kira answered, "I know that is how I see you... as beautiful as you both are."
"Flatterer," was the unanimous response as Sunny and Luna leaned forward to kiss Kira.
They didn't understand Amy's explanation, but so long as they were with Kira and so long as Kira loved them, Sunny and Luna would accept being seen as Japanese deities. Besides, they were best friends. They knew that the outside thought of them being rivals was wrong. As they thought of that, a single thought went through their minds.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me."
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"So by having her vision, I guess that Marie and her team were ready?" Lawrence asked.
"Yes," Marie nodded, "the day before, Draco's wings finally finished regeneration and he was able to fly again. Marie asked Katherine to go through the basic drills with her spear/staff that Armando had put her through to insure that all her bones were healed."
"And they were," Maddex spoke, a statement rather then a question.
"Yes..."
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1689
"Why do I have to go?" Joella asked Golgotha collected her shortly after dawn and began leading her through Glendale's streets.
"The Dog and her army are preparing to attack later today," Golgotha answered, "I'm taking you to your Grandfather so that you won't be harmed."
"I could persuade them not to fight," Joella offered.
"No, Joella," Golgotha spoke firmly, "they do not understand freedom. They blindly follow the evil God that enslaves people and makes them do all the evil things we're trying to stop."
"But surely we can show her that you've made people happy," Joella spoke.
"No, she is a lost cause."
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Meanwhile at Running-Bear's home, Marie slowly looked out toward the rising sun.
"This will be the day," Marie sighed as she turned to see the rest of her team standing behind her on Running-Bear's front lawn.
With the exception of Vatican, all of them had at least one "ivory" dagger, with a large blunt knob on the back so that a non-lethal blow could be delivered. If the blade had to be used, Marie gave each of them instructions as to where the body could be struck and the person attacked would not be in danger of being killed by the wound. Linus, Katherine, and Marie, herself, also had large sacks full of the glass canisters full of the black powder "grenades" and a few smaller cannisters containing what made Draco's fire..."
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"Draco's fire?" Lilly asked.
"Dragons do not breath fire in the sense that they store open flames inside their bodies," Marie explained, "their fire is slightly magical in nature but they don't store open flames inside their bodies. The dragon's "third lung" is a sack at the back of the throat that has a small opening into the mouth. This sack is surrounded by muscles which the dragon can control at will. When those muscles contract around the sack, a fluid is excreted under pressure so that it is sprayed out of the mouth. This fluid is extremely flammable by nature and when exposed to the air, its chemical composition will cause it to spontaneously burst into flame when it mixes with the air."
"So how did they remove the air from the bottles?" Maddex asked, "I doubt they had the pumps needed to create a vacuum."
"They were filled with water," Marie explained, "Draco's fire would evaporate the water into its component gases which he breathed in. He breathed out through his nostrils to insure that his teeth and lips could maintain a "seal" around each vial. Eventually all of the water was evaporated and breathed away and the vials were then filled with the liquid. Once they were full, Draco then went through the wrestling match of laying a wooden cork into the vials top with his tongue."
"How long did all of this take?" Betty asked.
"About a week," Marie answered, "mostly to insure that it was done safely. But they managed."
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"So, are we ready?" Marie asked.
"Yes," Vatican answered simply.
"Of course," Katherine answered while Draco and Linus nodded.
"Okay, remember, we're to make it look like an army," Marie spoke, "Draco, you're to come from the north. Vatican and I are to come from the south. Katherine, you are to come from the east; Linus, you are to come from the west. This needs to be simultaneous, so Draco, you are to are to send one fireball into the air once you're in position... it'll alert the witches, but its the only way we can coordinate things. Once the fireball dissipates we will all move to attack the boxing trees. If you aren't at your cardinal direction, move in that direction and the thorn maze from where you are."
The others nodded.
"Why am I with you, Marie?" Vatican asked.
"You can't dodge these cannons if their fired at close range," Marie answered, "I might. I'm betting they'll fire on first movement, so if they shoot at me and miss, you can then grab the tube before they can reload it."
"I see," Vatican nodded.
"Remember, everyone, we need to stay off the main roads," Marie spoke, "it will provide us with some "cover"."
"Right," was the unanimous response, although somewhat garbled as they were all different individuals.
"Let's GO!" Marie gave the word, and they rapidly began to move out.
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Later that morning, Golgotha and Joella arrived at Running-Bear's home.
"Grandpa!" Joella said in a cheery sounding voice as she leaped into Running-Bear's arms, nearly knocking him over.
"Hello, Joella," Running-Bear spoke, "Goldwyn."
"Please look after her for awhile," Golgotha instructed, "Gaal, Gomorrah, and I will be back for her later. Don't let her leave."
Joella looked back with some fear on her face.
"Turn back from this path, Goldwyn," Running-Bear urged weakly, "I'm sure there is a way to make peace with these hunters you've told me about."
"We are freeing the world," Golgotha answered, "it is THEY who are wrong."
"If they are as opposed to you as you say, I would tend to think they see you and your sisters otherwise," Running-Bear advised, "surely you can reach some sort of compromise. Return to the light..."
"By surrendering to them?" Golgotha shot back, sounding angry.
"Goldwyn..."
"THAT NAME HAS NO MEANING FOR ME!" Golgotha yelled and turned away.
She left Running-Bear look on with the look of defeat on his face, and Joella nearly in tears because her "mother" was so unhappy.