Meri had forgotten about the incident in front of the BII offices until she got home. She found the amulet she had been given and looked at it. It was a simple looking gold disk a little larger than a quarter, the only mark on it was a curved line across one side.

She couldn’t understand why someone would give it to her. It looked like real gold, but it was as hard as stone. There was no marking on it to indicate who made it or even the quality of the gold. How she got it made her feel uncomfortable, but at the same time it felt very familiar to her. A few minutes of digging in her jewelry box and the pendant was hanging around her neck from a slender chain.

There was a mountain of homework for her to finish, but she felt so tired. She had a little time before dinner, so she lay down on her bed and went to sleep.

As she slept, the curved line on the medallion opened, golden light filling the room.

She woke up when she heard her mother calling her. "Meri, dinner."

She sat up slowly. "I’m coming."

Her behavior at dinner caught her parents’ attention. "Are you all right?" Her mother asked.

"Yeah, yes, I, I just feel so tired."

"Maybe you’d better go get some sleep."

"I can’t, I still have homework to do."

Her father looked at her. "Once that’s done, you go right to bed."

"All right."

When she was finished, she went back to her room. She started to go through her homework only to find that it had already been done. "Meri, do you want a snack?" Her mother asked.

"Uh, no, I must have finished my homework earlier. I think I’m going to get some sleep now."

"All right. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I’m fine."

"I’d like to take your temperature."

"No, I’m fine."

"I’d still like to…" The line on the amulet opened again, the golden light shining on Meri’s mother. "I’m sure you’ll feel better after a good night’s rest. Good night dear." She kissed Meri on the forehead and left.

Meri ran over to her dresser and looked at the amulet, just in time to see the line close back up. "How did you do that? What are you?"

As she looked at it the amulet opened again, the curved line sliding open to reveal the image of an eye. Golden light filled Meri’s vision and she felt like she was floating. "You must be ready to act." A growling male feline voice told her. "You will not have much time."

"When? To do what?"

"You will know what to do. We will make sure you are where you have to be."

"Who are you?"

"We are here to help you. Only you can do what must be done."

She opened her eyes the next morning to find herself lying in bed, still dressed. It was still dark out and it would be over an hour before her alarm clock would go off. "Now what?"

* * * * *

Lazarus woke up and looked around at his new surroundings. Bev had brought him to her home, probably intending to look after him, or to call the doctors. He got up, his movements silenced by his magic. He couldn’t stay here, as long as he was in Furriston the city was in danger. Sleep had allowed him to repair most of the damage to his heart, but his time was running out. He had to get to that stone. He had to break the seal and get away as fast as he could, before the demon could destroy this world.

He walked to the door, but stopped before he opened it. He owed her more than this, he had to explain why he was leaving. A pad of paper left on the bed where he had been sleeping bore the only evidence that he had ever been there at all.

* * * * *

Light waited by the docks. The truck that had driven off with the stone had driven into four warehouses and driven out again with at least as many duplicate trucks. Obviously the whole point was to confuse anyone trying to follow the truck.

But not anyone trying to follow the stone. The tracking signal had stayed in the first warehouse even after the truck had driven away. Two hours before dawn a large crate had been driven down to the waterfront. "Escaping by ship? I don’t think so." He smiled.

He looked up at the faint glow of pre-dawn light. Something was wrong. Everything seemed nervous, scared…

"You’re coming, aren’t you?" He knew when the Dark Lord was near. The titanic creature Starkiller was already coming closer. "Dawn, Avariss will be here at dawn. You’ll wait until then. You want him as much as we do."

* * * * *

Michael Alan Avariss was standing on the bridge of the tanker as it steamed towards Furriston. The captain walked over to him. "Your cars will be ready to offload as soon as we dock Sir."

"Good. I don’t want any mistakes this time."

Ten minutes later Avariss was driving one of the two limousines away from the dock. The crew was loading cargo onto the ship and he had to decide between following Avariss and watching the stone. "Why two cars?" He asked. He looked back at the dock, then started running along the roof, leaping from building to building.

He was quickly joined by Ted. "What’s going on?"

"Get back to the docks. Stop them from loading that ship. Use any excuse you have to, permits, customs inspections, health inspections, changing lanes without signaling, whatever it takes. Do not let them leave."

"Where are you going?"

"Just get back there." He shouted.

Ted flew back towards the waterfront and Light continued after Avariss. The buildings became more commercial, so Light leaped into the air and began flying after the limo.

Avariss was finished with all the insults that had been heaped on him recently. Finally, his own son had decided to live with these beasts. Now he was going to finish them off, destroying forever any chance they had of being seen as civilized or even intelligent.

He stopped in front of the Animen Circle. The huge statues marked where the last battle between furries and humans had ended, and where the new one would begin. The other limo pulled up and Fomhault Plebe, the bald, bespectacled Resource Director for Avariss Industries, got out. "Mister Avariss, the package you wanted." He held out a small case.

"Good, wait in the car. I’ll drive back."

"Yes sir.

"Let’s go. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

Light watched them from the corner of a building nearby. He couldn’t see what they were doing because the front of the car was facing him and the trunk was open. "What are you up to?" There was no way he could go around to see what they were doing without being seen. He looked around again, in the distance he could see Gene Catlow, CatsWhisker, and Cotton Taylor walking toward the monument. Gene waved to him, and an all-too-familiar sensation touched the edges of his mystic senses. Mister Taylor had just tried to look at him using the ‘Sight of the Soul.’ He sighed and started walking towards them, even though to do so took him away from where Avariss was parked. "Mister Catlow, Miss CatsWhisker, and you must be Mister Cotton Taylor."

"What are you?" Cotton asked.

"Cotton!" Gene said. "What’s wrong with you?"

"That’s all right Mr. Catlow, he’s just picked up on something that is only revealed with Sight of the Soul."

"He doesn’t have a soul." Cotton said nervously.

"Yes I do, I just had to leave most of it with someone else. Sort of for safe keeping in case something unexpected happens." He looked around. "Speaking of unexpected—get down!"

He dropped so fast that Gene, CW and Cotton had to scramble to get on the ground. The second they were all down the sky seemed to erupt in black flames and a roaring sound made the ground shake beneath them. "What was that?" CW cried.

Every building around them was covered in black flame that was spreading faster than any fire had a right to. Tires screeched on the other side of the monument, sending Light running after Avariss. As fast as the car was moving, Light was even faster. For a second he stood in the path of the oncoming car, an obstacle that Avariss had no intention of avoiding. Light slammed both fists down onto the hood of the car, sending the rear end flying over him and driving the motor through the road and fifteen feet into the ground below. He tore the driver’s door off it’s hinges, pulled Avariss out and threw him all the way back to the other car.

While Light was dealing with Avariss, Gene, CW and Cotton had been surrounded by the black flames. Each of them was trying to protect the other two. As the fires washed over them, they hugged each other tightly and closed their eyes. "Gene?"

"Yeah Cotton?"

"Are we on fire yet?"

"I think so."

"I can’t feel anything." CW said.

"Me neither."

"Maybe one of us should open our eyes." Gene said.

"Maybe the three of you should get over here." Light said. Although he had also been surrounded by flames, they had stopped several feet short of him. "Come on!"

They ran around the circle to where he was standing. "What’s Avariss doing here?" Cotton asked.

"Good question." Light said. "Let’s find out." He yanked on the trunk so hard that the catch snapped off. Inside was a large, very complex machine, with the yellow and black ‘Radiation Danger’ symbol stenciled on it.

"What is that?" CW asked.

"Well it ain’t a cappuccino machine." Light said.

"A real nuclear bomb?" Gene asked in shock. "Are you insane? What were you going to do about the retaliation?"

Avariss smiled. "Against whom?" He hissed.

"He’s right." Light said. There’d be no radar track to suggest that the bomb came from anywhere else but right here. They’d be able to claim that you were developing nuclear weapons to be used against humans. There would never be another furry-controlled government again. You’d be treated as animals all over again."

"They are…"

Avariss never got a chance to finish. Light grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. "I once gave my word never to take a mortal life." His grip got even tighter, and Avariss’ eyes started to bulge. "But you will be surprised what you can live through." He threw Avariss to the ground. "First I’ll dismantle your bomb, then I’ll do the same to you."

A tornado of black fire swept down the street toward them. In its center, surrounded by the thickest, blackest fires of all stood Lazarus. "Allow me." He raised one hand, a ray of blackness coming from his palm to strike the bomb.

Light had no expression on his face as the bomb disintegrated before their very eyes. "He’s converting it to energy, using it to make himself stronger."

The last of the bomb vanished. "Now get out of my way. These others are of no concern to me, I want Avariss."

Meri ran as fast as she could towards the Animen Circle. The amulet she wore was blazing with golden light as it both guided her through and protected her from the black flames. She got to the Circle in time to see Avariss shoot Lazarus.

For a second there was only silence as the flames all over the city were drawn back into Lazarus. His body fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. A column of solid black rose from him, twisting and writhing like a snake.

Foolish mortal. A voice whispered into their minds. By ending that human life you have released the soul that held my powers in check. Now there is nothing left for you… Two glowing green eyes opened on the head of the black snake, and six dragon-like wings unfolded from around its middle. Except your inevitable death. Each pair of wings flapped in turn as it rose into the air.

"As I feared, the demon is unleashed." Light said.

"There must be something you can do." Gene said.

"Nothing. Though I sought to prevent this, it is forbidden for me to act against it directly."

"Are you saying there’s no hope?" Cotton asked, almost shouting in fear.

Light watched as Meri knelt down by Lazarus’ body and began crying. "There is always hope, Mister Taylor. Sometimes you just have to have faith." He walked over to Meri and put his large hand on her shoulder. "Do not cry little one, he is not yet lost to you."

"W-what do you mean?" She asked as she looked up at him, tears still running down her cheeks. "He’s dead." She whispered.

"His soul has left that body, but not yet this world. He will listen if you call him. Only you can save him, and your world."

"How, how do I do that?"

"You already know what to do." Light said as he started to walk away.

Meri took the amulet she was wearing and held it in both hands. She could see the demon-snake flying towards them, preparing for an attack. "Lazarus, I know you can hear me, we need your help. I need your help." He voice caught for a second. "I-I need you."

The green ribbons that Light had conjured outside museum appeared again around the demon-snake, only now they were almost a foot across and glowed with holy light. They wrapped around the black wings, forcing it to the ground. "You…" It hissed as it looked at Light. "You would dare break the Covenant with this blasphemous attack?"

Light was calm as he leaned against the foundation of the monument. "You know that even I cannot summon the Angelic power of the emerald bands without the required incantation."

The amulet passed right through Meri’s hands as if it no longer had any substance. The line had opened all the way, revealing a brilliant white light inside. Dark one, it is you who would betray the Master. You who would sacrifice this world for the simple reason that it exists.

"No, it can’t be, you can’t do this."

The light floated out of the amulet, distortions and ripples giving it a humanoid shape. As strong as you are, even you cannot resist the inevitability of change. You must change. We have always been our own worst enemies.

The being of light passed right through the bands as they closed around the demon, sealing them both inside. Light watched as the bands shifted and twisted into a sphere. "For good or ill, it is over." He said.

Slowly the bands narrowed and faded. The only thing inside was a gray sphere. Everyone watched as six wings unfolded from the sphere, and countless colors began to swirl over the surface as it started glowing. It had the same serpentine form as before, only now it was every color but black. Avariss tried to run, but was held in place. "Human, you have deprived us of our body, and threatened the existence of your entire world. Your fate will be decided by the Dark Lord." It said.

A shadow fell over the city. Everyone looked up to see that something huge was blocking the sun. It looked like the silhouette of a giant manta ray. "Behold!" Light shouted. "Starkiller, the chariot of the Dark Lord."

Lights went on all around them as day turned into night. They didn’t see the two giant stingrays flying down until they landed. On the backs of the rays were two beings, one was tall and thin, and looked human under it’s shadowy robes. The other looked like a nightmare made of wax. It’s arms and legs were too thick for their length and ended in masses of writhing lavender tentacles. It’s eyes were a glassy green and it’s mouth was a shiny black beak.

The robed one turned to look at them. "Prepare yourselves for the arrival of the Elder of Chaos, Dark Lord of the Realm of Limbo, Numair Lucescion and his chosen bride, the Bright Lady, Ruriko Maraxson."

Two more rays descended. On one an adult human female with long silver hair was sitting on a throne made of hundreds of clear crystals. On the other was a large throne made of thick hexagonal logs of dull black stone, sitting on it was a young feline boy, his tawny fur spotted in the pattern of large rosettes typical of jaguars. He yawned and looked lovingly at the lady on the other throne, causing her to smile and blow him a kiss.

"That’s Numair?" Gene asked. "I thought he’d be, you know, older…"

"He is what he wants to be." Light said. "Don’t be fooled, even in that form he could destroy this galaxy with a sneeze."

Numair looked at them with feline eyes that were too golden for the color to be natural. "We shall dispense with the formalities of introductions." He growled in a deep voice that belonged to a much older being. "You are all known to me. Nago, bring forth the prisoner."

The wax-skinned nightmare pushed Avariss forward.

"The Past shall now present evidence."

The Lazarus-snake floated forward. "His past reveals only hatred and greed. He has mercilessly exploited the helpless, and destroyed those he could not use."

"The Present shall now present evidence."

Light took one step forward. "Even now, faced with inevitable judgement, his heart is not swayed. He thinks himself above not only human law but also above the laws of the universe. The end of his life shall bring tears from no one, not even his own son."

Numair nodded. "Now let the veil of time part before my eyes, and lay bare the unknowable future." His eyes glowed with unnatural light. "Enough!" He roared, the light gone from his eyes. "Never before have I witnessed such a disgusting waste of a life. He stood up, changing from a child to a heavily muscled adult in the blink of an eye. "There is no question of your guilt. Now sentence will be declared."

"What about my defense?" Avariss shouted.

"What about it? You have had your entire life to prevent this." Numair said. "You chose your destiny with every life you let end, with every time you placed greed and hate above life. Now the time has come to face the consequences of your actions." He sat down again.

Ruriko stood up, her movement as fluid as if she were made of water. Her throne shook, then separated into dozens of multi-legged creatures that looked like crystal centipedes. They surged ahead of her, forming a path between her ray and Numair’s. "Husband?" She said calmly as she leaned against the side of his throne. "Look at that poor little kitten over there. She’s scared enough." She started to stroke the fur behind his ear. "You wouldn’t traumatize her by tearing Avariss to shreds in front of her, would you?"

Numair leaned toward her until his arm slipped right off the chair. He cleared his throat and sat up. "Well, if you put it like that…" He looked at Light. "We’ll be going with plan two."

"As you wish."

"From you we take your name." The Lazarus-snake said. "Never again shall you be able to identify yourself as Michael Alan Avariss. Although you shall retain all the memories of that life, you will not be able to communicate that information to anyone, in any way."

"From you we take your body." Light said. "Your life shall start again, in a new form that shall forever remind you of your hatred and racist ways. Your time as a human is ended, now you shall be remade as a furry."

"From you we take your death." Numair said darkly. "Your mind is open to us. You think that as soon as you can, you’ll escape this punishment by ending your own life. This we will not allow. You will not be able to harm yourself, nor shall others take your life. Even if you should try to end your life in the madness of war, no bullet or bomb will find you as its mark. Where you seek doom, you shall instead be a harbinger of peace. You will live a very long time Avariss—and you are not going to enjoy one second of it until you truly repent." A golden sphere appeared around Avariss. "We have spoken, so shall it be."

The sphere that held Avariss shrank and was gone, taking Avariss with it.

"Steward, you and Nago will return to Starkiller and prepare for departure. The Bright Lady and I will be along momentarily."

"Yes Master." Their rays flew off.

Numair looked at Meri. "Come here young lady." She got up and walked over to his ray. "Closer, come up here where I can get a good look at you." The eyes of the ray swiveled to watch her as she stepped on it. "That’s better." He took a handkerchief and wiped the tears from her eyes. "There’s something you want to ask me, isn’t there?"

"Yes sir." She sniffed. "Please, bring Lazarus back to me."

Numair looked over at the serpentine spirit, then he looked at Meri. "I cannot restore him to his human body. I can give him a new form, but such an act has a high price."

"Whatever your price is, I’ll pay it."

"Even if the price is your life?" Numair asked.

Meri looked down, then nodded. "Yes sir."

"Hey wait a minute!" Gene shouted. "You can’t ask her that."

"Mister Catlow, I can excuse such an outburst only once." Numair said firmly. "First, I’m not the one doing the asking. Second, I’m not asking for her immortal soul or that she be my slave for all eternity. What I’m proposing is a very fair offer. One mortal life, for one mortal life." He looked at Meri. "I will give you time to put your affairs in order, at least such as you may have at your age. You shall finish High School, whereupon you will receive more information. I will, in addition, insure that you are reunited with Lazarus. Do you, of your own free will agree to those terms?"

"Yes." She whispered. "I agree."

"Give me your left hand." She held out her left hand and he took hold of her wrist. "This mark is my emblem. It allows my power to cross the dimensions, and should you fail to keep your word, it will remind you." He let go of her wrist, the circular design of the bladed eye now imprinted on her fur. "Now, you should be getting home." He snapped his fingers and she vanished. "Light, you will see to the completion of this."

"As you wish."

Ruriko returned to her ray and the crystal centipedes formed her throne again. "My eye is upon your world Gene Catlow. Remember that. Conduct yourselves with honor and dignity and you shall not meet the fate that befell Avariss." The two rays rose into the air, and the shadow of Starkiller moved away from the sun.

"What were those insect things?" Cotton asked.

"Crystal scouts. The infant form of Numair’s deadliest servants. As adults they are forty meters long and almost two meters across. They can track anything, anywhere and never stop hunting until they are called off, or their quarry is destroyed." Light looked up at the sky, the tracks of his tears shining in the sunlight.

"Why were you crying?" CW asked.

"Because Ruriko was here."

"You love her, don’t you?"

"I always have." He said. "She is the one I went back in time to save. They used her to get to me. Being away from her was intended to be my punishment. But seeing her again is even worse. I can’t touch her at all. I want to hold her, to kiss her, to just touch her hand. But if I do, the same barrier that keeps me from going home keeps me from touching her." He started to walk away. "I’ll see you later. I, need a little time alone."

* * * * *

Gene and CW found Light sitting on the beach, looking out at the ocean. "There you are." CW said.

"You two here to escort me out of town?" He asked.

"Why would we do that?"

"Governments don’t usually like having me around. I make them nervous."

"The Mayor wants to give you the key to the city." Gene said. "You’re a hero."

"I’m leaving before the battle is over. That’s not very heroic."

"But you put a stop to the demon’s threat. You ended the hatred between humans and furries." CW said.

"I ended nothing." He said sadly. "The demon never made anyone feel anything, it never could. Feelings that already existed were being amplified and let loose, that’s all. Ending those feelings is up to you."

"How do we do that?" Gene asked.

"Hatred comes from fear, fear comes from ignorance. You have to teach both humans and furries not to be afraid of each other."

"What will you do?"

"Soon I will be moving on."

"What about Meri?" CW asked.

"What about her?"

"You can’t just let her die."

"Who said she was going to die?"

"She gave up her life to save Lazarus."

"Yes CatsWhisker, she gave up her life."

"You sound like she’s not going to die."

"All things that are mortal must die. Even I cannot change that. It is the law of the universe." He said calmly. "Meri will now have to walk the path that another has chosen for her. That freedom to choose is what she gave up, although she does not yet understand."

"Shouldn’t you tell her that you’re not supposed to die?"

"I can, but I’m not supposed to." He said. "Right now she’s convinced that she’s going to die. She’s going to be examining her life and asking questions that she wouldn’t have asked otherwise. She’s going to grow up." He stood up and started to walk away from them. "Fare you well my friends. We may meet again, but I fear it will not be in this life." As he spoke he faded away, not even leaving footprints behind.

* * * * *