Forsaken Pt. 03: Sword Song

...A sword spinning in the air, it's blade flashing as it caught and reflected light. It's spin sped up, till it looked as though it were a solid disk of metal. A hand reached for it's hilt and it stopped short, but instead of taking it, the hand flexed and the blade shattered. A scream came up, first low and faint, then steadily growing louder. A reptilian face, it's mouth open, fangs glistening with saliva. It's lids opened, revealing red eyes and slitted pupils. They were filled with pain, rage and madness...

"Gah!" Yoshi yelled into the darkness sitting up, eyes wide.

"Yoshi?" A soft, sleepy voice whispered beside him. "Are you all right?"

He laid back, reached over and found the soft shoulder of Mira. He slowly caressed it, "Yes...it was just a nightmare." Or was it? He didn't know.

"Oh..." She said sympathetically. She rolled onto her side and kissed his hairless chest.

Her small breasts pressing against him pushed away the nightmare and brought a loving smile to his face, "Mira...I love you so much...

"I love you too." She said, kissing his chin. "No one has ever made me happier than you do, Yoshi."

He kissed her small, red lips and caressed the soft skin of her sides, back and buttocks. She laughed and pulled him over, on top of her. He lay there, gazing down into her gray eyes, his chest aching with the feelings for her he can never put words to. Seeing in his brown eyes what he felt in his heart, Mira ran her hands over his chest. He smiled at her, kissed her throat and they made love.

*****

"No!" He screamed, eyes flying open and his chest heaving.

"Another one?" Mira asked, sounding as though she had been awake for some time.

"Yes." He answered. The sun had begun to push it's golden rays through the curtains, giving the room a soft glow. "This one was far worse."

"What are they about?" She asked him.

"I...can't say." He said, feeling guilty for hiding the truth from her.

"Can't or won't?" She asked, her voice angry.

"I can't...I want to...but I am afraid of what may happen."

"Can it really be that bad?" She asked.

"It may be..." He replied. He took one of her small, cold hands in his and squeezed it. "Trust me, Mira...I do want to tell you...but I need to work it out myself first."

"All right." She responded, pulling her hand from his. With a frustrated sigh, she threw back the covers, sat up and slid her feet to the floor. "I want to help you...but you won't let me in...why is that, Yoshi? You have been so distant from me ever since you helped that woman." She stood and shook her head. "Did...something happen between you two?"

Yoshi let out a short, scornful sound, "No...nothing...I almost wish it were that simple." He rolled to her side of the bed and laid a hand on her bare stomach. "I could never be with another woman, Mira...I may not say it often enough, but I love you and no other woman could possibly fulfill me the way you do."

"Then what is it?" She asked, turning to look down at him. "What happened?"

"No...I can't tell you." She opened her mouth, but he laid his hand on her thigh and caressed while shaking his head. "I will, Mira...but not now...I wouldn't even know what to tell you, it makes very little sense to me." He moved his head, kissed her other thigh and she trembled slightly. He smiled and moved his head again, this time so he could suck the soft skin of her inner thigh gently. She ran her fingers through his hair and moaned.

"Damn you, Yoshi..." She muttered. "Why do you have this strange ability to do this to me even when I'm so angry with you?"

"Because I know you, Mira..." He said, sitting up. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." He put his feet on the floor and pushed himself up. "I think I should go..."

"Yoshi...it's all right." She said, her voice husky with desire.

"No, it's not...I have changed...and I am still changing." He took her into his arms and kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her small nose, then her lips. "I need to find myself...and I can't do that here, with you...as much as I want that to be."

"But why?" She asked, hurt.

"You are everything to me, Mira...and yet, there is something more...something about myself I need to learn." He kissed her again. "You, Mira my love, have shown me how to be a man...now I must learn how to be an animal...or something worse." She only looked at him, confused. He pulled her to him and kissed her, feeling the pounding of her heart. Something inside him uncoiled and he threw her to the bed. He watched as tears formed in her eyes, guilt wrenching his guts. "I'm sorry, Mira...I...I didn't mean to..." Fire erupted in his stomach and he doubled over.

"Hu...shsss" He moaned, falling to his knees and holding his stomach. Mira stopped crying and went to him.

"Yoshi? What's wrong?" She asked, worried.

He pushed her away, "No..stay back, Mira..." He tried to stand, but the pain increased and he fell onto his side. Mira covered her ears as he screamed. It was high pitched, inhuman and filled with a horrible pain.

Yoshi forced himself up, grabbed the edge of the bed and got to his feet. Mira stepped back as she saw his face, which had changed, his eyes red, his face elongated, sharp looking fangs protruded from his open mouth. His back seemed to erupt as two gray wings burst from his shoulders.

"Mira...help..." He cried out, hands holding the side of his head, "...something is wrong...ahhhh...I need..." He screamed, then crashed through the bedroom window of their condo.

Mira ran to the broken window in time to see his wings unfurl and billow as they caught an updraft. With a cry, Yoshi flew off, flying crazily, narrowly missing crashing into another building. Luckily it was the weekend, most people never even saw the creature pass over head.

*****

He landed in a park, the world spinning out of control around him. He fell to the ground and held his head, the pain making it hard to think. He felt as though he were on fire, like he was being consumed from within.

"Hmmm..it worked...how interesting..." A voice said. "How interesting that it should turn out to be a monster hunter that it summoned..."

"Who...?" Yoshi asked.

"Oh, no...not yet...I'm going to enjoy this...oh, yes I am..." Something wet landed on Yoshi's face and he realized it was saliva. "They say every dog has it's day...and I believe I'm having mine." The voice laughed.

Yoshi tried to push himself up, but a booted foot struck him in the side and he fell back onto his chest. Maddened, he swept a clawed hand outward and felt a satisfying jar as he found a leg. The person screamed and kicked at him again, striking him in the head. He passed out.

*****

A cool hand touched his face, then lips pressed against his forehead. With a cry, he sat up, to find himself clothed and on an unfamiliar bed. The hand and lips had belonged to Alana, who was busily preparing a washcloth.

"Alana..." He said, his voice raspy with thirst. She turned to him, a smile on her face. It had been some time since he had last seen her, and the sight of her surprised him. She was still as beautiful as ever, and something new shone in her eyes. A joy that lit her face from within.

"Yoshi...Mira told us what happened." She told him. She gave him a reproachful look. "You should have told her...to find out as she did." She shook her head.

Yoshi stood, his legs trembling. Alana quickly took hold of one arm and supported him. He tried to walk, but ended up in her arms. She sat him on the bed and kneeled by him, looking into his eyes. What she saw there brought fear into her heart, for his eyes seemed cold, distant, filled with pain, hatred and rage.

"Alana..help me...I'm losing...myself..." He pleaded with her.

"I'm here for you, Yoshi...we all are..." She responded, the fear ebbing, but not gone. What had been in his eyes had only receded. "Eric, Mira and I..."

"Mommy..." An excited voice called from somewhere within the house.

"Mommy?" Yoshi repeated, realizing what that joy in her eyes had been. He was surprised when fear swept across her face, not for herself, but her child. Fear of him. He reached out and laid a hand on her face. "You have nothing to fear, Alana...I would never harm you, or your child..."

"I know...I'm sorry, Yoshi..." She apologized.

He smiled, "I understand..."

Footsteps came running down the hall, small footsteps, and a little girl came into the room. She looked to be three, brown hair in pig tails, her gray eyes wide at the sight of Yoshi. She wore coveralls that looked as though she had been outside playing in the dirt, her face was smeared with mud.

"Hi..." She said to Yoshi, hugging Alana's side.

"Hello..." Yoshi replied, smiling. Alana was relieved to see that he was himself again, the look in his eyes gone.

"This is Michelle." Alana said, her voice filled with love and pride. She looked down at the girl.

"Michelle, this is Yoshi...he's a friend of your father's and I."

Michelle still looked uncertain, but waved a tiny hand slightly. She looked up at her mother, then back at Yoshi. Alana smiled at her and ran a hand over her long hair. Yoshi laughed and shook his head.

"I'm all right, honest..."

"She's shy around new people." Alana said. "Go on, honey...I'm talking with Yoshi." She gave the little girl a swat on her behind and the girl ran off with a giggle.

"Cute...and she looks like you...I was afraid she may look like Eric." Yoshi commented, with a grin.

"Oh...he'll be so happy to hear that." She laughed.

"Is she...like you?" He asked.

Alana looked after the girl, a far away look on her face, then she gave Yoshi a searching look, "And if she is?"

"Nothing...I was just curious."

"She doesn't seem to take after me, other than the looks." She replied. Her expression changed, to one of worry. "What about you, Yoshi? What is going on?"

"I don't know...not completely." He told her about what he felt, about the person in the park.

"What is this 'it' she mentioned?" She mused. "And how could it summon you?"

Yoshi didn't respond for a while, then the nightmare with the sword came back to him, "I'm not sure how...but I think she was talking about a sword."

"The sword from your dream?"

"Mira told you..." He said.

"Yes...she is very worried about you, Yoshi...when you changed, she was frightened...but she loves you so much." She said.

"I believe it is that sword..." He looked out the window, into a yard full of family things. A swing set, an inflatable little kids pool, a barbecue and toys scattered about. He turned back to Alana.

"You did it, Alana...a new life...a family...will I ever have those things?"

"Of course you will...you have Mira."

He gave her a frightened look, "Do I? What about after I find my answers? Will she stay with a freak?"

Alana gave him a stern look, the one she probably gave her own family, "Don't be stupid, she hasn't run away from you yet, has she? I doubt she ever will."

Before he could reply, a stabbing pain wound it's way up his spine, till it nestled at the back of his brain. He cried out, stiffened and fell back on the bed. Everything round him was bleary, the sounds muted. He heard Alana call for Eric, then her hand, feeling like ice, was on his face.

He screamed as his muscles spasmed and he could feel the change coming over him. Alana pinned him to the bed and yelled something he couldn't understand. He heard Michelle crying, Eric yelling and Mira sobbing. He screamed again as he struggled against Alana's iron grip.

With a roar that filled the house, Yoshi flung Alana from him, tore the shirt from his body and hunched over, his wings sprouting. He snarled, rage beating like a pulse in his brain. He moved to the window, but was caught around the waist by Alana, who said something in another language and a heat slammed through him. With a cry of frustrated rage, he fell onto his back, unconscious.

*****

...the sword hung above him, a crystalline sound seeming to emanate from it's blade. Etched into the blade was the picture of a tea tree leaf, with stars at it's stem and a moon at it's tip. The sound grew louder and the blade trembled. It began to lower, till it was within his reach, but another hand reached out and took hold of it. A laugh seemed to come from all around, then it's owner stepped into view. It was a woman, in her thirties, with short black hair. Her eyes blazed with the reflected light from the blade, her mouth curved into a sneering smile. With a swipe of the blade, she plunged it into his chest...

He awoke to darkness, his skin covered in sweat. He lifted his arm, staring at the tea leaf with stars and a moon with horror. He had always had it, but thought nothing of it, till now. He put his face in his hands and sighed.

"I thought you would awaken soon." Alana's soft voice said from the darkness. "You were having one hell of a nightmare...I almost woke you."

"No...that would have been a mistake..." He whispered. He laid a hand over the leaf and cursed.

"It had something to do with your tattoo..." She prompted.

He laughed darkly, "Oh...it's no tattoo...I have had this for as long as I can remember...which doesn't seem to be that long..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I can't remember passed forty years ago..." He snarled. "Don't you find that strange?"

"Yes...how old are you, Yoshi?"

"I...I don't know."

"I believe you are quite old...perhaps older than me." She said. She stepped into the moonlight and closed her eyes, seeming to lose herself for a moment, then her eyes snapped open and something wild stared out at him. "Tell me what you saw in the dream."

"I..I saw a sword floating in midair, just above me, it was emitting a sound, then I saw that it had the same picture etched in it's blade that I have on my arm...It came to me, but a woman took hold of it, laughed and plunged it into my chest...that's when I awoke."

"Hmmm...you remember what you said to me when we were waiting for Leviathan?"

"What?" He asked.

"I commented on how good you were with a sword, your reply was..."

"...'The sword is like no other weapon...it is fluid, sensuous, serpentine'..." He finished.

"Yes...why do you feel that way?"

He shook his head, "I don't know...I just do."

"What if you and that sword in your dream are connected...that that is why this woman, who is undoubtedly the person from the park, was able to summon you and to cause you to change."

"Where did she get the sword and why am I connected to it?" He asked.

"I don't know..." She replied, then laid a hand on his shoulder. "But I will help you..."

"Your family..."

She smiled and laid a finger against his lips, "I am the only one strong enough to help you." She pulled back and ran a hand over her face, down her body, then slapped her knees. "I already talked it over with Eric...Mira will stay here and I go with you."

"Thank you, Alana...I think I may well need your strength and friendship."

*****

He walked between the trees, crouched over slightly, with his right hand on the hilt of his sword, which was hanging from his hip. He stopped and peered into the darkness. He stood straight and raised a hand.

Alana padded softly to his side, her great lupine head swinging this way and that, searching for a scent. She looked up at him and whined. He nodded, drew his sword and walked forward.

"She's here...I can feel it." He whispered. With a flick of his wrist, he spun his blade, feeling uncertain of it for the first time. "My sword feels wrong..."

"That's because it's the wrong sword, fool." A voice said ahead of them. The woman from his dream stepped out from the trees. "Nice wolf...do you think it will help?"

"That's what I'm here for." Alana answered in her wolf's voice, which was low and throaty.

The woman stepped back, her eyes wide, "What...?"

Alana growled and charged her, but the woman sidestepped her and kicked her in the ribs. Alana landed on her feet, her teeth bared. Yoshi ran, jumped, stretching out one leg and hit the woman in the back. She stumbled forward, turned to him, threw back her long coat and brought the gleaming blade out.

"I want you to pay, murderer...I want you to die." She said, holding the sword in the air. She brought it down and buried it in the ground. With a sigh of satisfaction, she ran her hand down the length of the blade, till her hand found the symbol of the tea leaf.

As she caressed the symbol, Yoshi began to tremble. The woman muttered something and the blade came alive, the symbol now etched in flame. Yoshi fell to his knees, his face changing and his sword falling from his hand.

Alana howled and charged the woman, only to pull back short of her, then charging from another angle. The woman screamed in rage. But that quickly turned to fear as Alana changed. With a sweep of her hand, Alana sent a dark band of energy at the woman.

The woman yanked the sword from the ground and quickly put it between her and the band. With a crackle, the band hit the blade, only to be absorbed and fed into the woman. She laughed and swung the sword, striking Alana in the side and a burst of dark blood fell to the ground.

Crying out in pain, Alana fell to her hands and knees. Before the woman could bring the sword down to take Alana's life, Yoshi struck her in the back as hard as he could. The woman cried out and fell, the sword coming out of her hand.

"Damn..." Yoshi yelled in pain. With a sudden idea, or memory, he opened one hand and pointed it at the sword. The sword trembled, the crystalline sound starting up. With a sudden flash, a flame snaked it's way up the blade, to dance and flit around the point. The crystalline song turned to a roar, the roar of something big, powerful and enraged. Yoshi's face rippled, then he stood and motioned to the sword. It flew to his hand and it's flame erupted into an inferno that twisted it's way to the sky.

"No!" The woman cried. "How?"

Alana came to Yoshi's side and he smiled at her. She looked to the sword, which was now singing it's song again, though it was filled with something jubilant now. The flames disappeared, but the tea leaf symbol still glowed and now Yoshi's began to glow brightly.

"Now...now I remember..." He yelled triumphantly. "Oh, you made a mistake, woman...you gave me my identity back."

He held the sword before his chest and muttered something softly. The sword's song grew louder, deeper and more bestial. Yoshi's eyes flashed and the sword trembled and seemed to melt into his hands. With a cry of joy, he began to glow. He grew bigger, his neck elongated, his pants burst as his legs grew, talons burst from his toes, a tail sprang from his lower back, his head grew and became triangular, his mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. In moments, he towered above the two women, his wings outstretched. His red eyes ablaze with an inner fire.

"He's...a monster?" The woman cried.

"No...he's...a dragon..." Alana whispered, staring up at him.

He raised his head to the stars, let out a roar, then sprang into the air, flapping his massive wings. With only a quick glance at the women, he took to the sky and flew off. The woman stood, fear plain on her face.

Alana watched the dark form of Yoshi disappear into the night sky. She turned to the woman, her awe turning to anger. She grabbed the front of the woman's coat, lifted her from the ground and threw her into a tree.

"Now your going to answer a few questions..." Alana said to her, in a voice that left no doubt to that fact.

*****

Yoshi entered the yard, with it's chaos of family things scattered about. As he walked to the front door, it swung open and Alana stepped out, with Mira and Eric just behind. Mira ran to him, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Mira..." Yoshi whispered, kissing her back. He lifted her, swung her around, laughing. "It's over, thank god, it's over..."