The event had been broadcast all over the news for days at this point.  It’s not like they had never happened before, or ever would again, but total solar eclipses seemed to always spark the imaginations of young and old alike. So at this particular point on a warm July afternoon, more than twenty thousand furs lined the beaches of Seaside, Oregon to see the event unfold.  Hundreds of sand castles of various sizes dotted the area.  More than a few furs were buried to their necks in the white crystals. One hybrid in particular, a dragon-wolf with sleek black fur and taut, trim muscles, wore a pair of cargo shorts and no shirt, showing off the gentle swells of his chest and arms. He grinned as he watched a fox kit playing on the sandy shore, running back from the incoming surf and giggling, only to return to the water line when it retreated back into the ocean.  With a small, lavish sigh, the dragon-wolf leaned back on his elbows, letting the perfect breeze blow through his fur, the sun warming his skin.  He pulled his shades down to rest on his muzzle, blocking out the sun’s rays as he laid back on his beach towel and just soaked it all in for a moment.  The cacophony of the crowd surrounding him faded into a dull roar in the background as he focused on the sound of the waves rolling in.

Idly, he fingered the jade fang that rested between his pecs, attached to a nylon string that hung around his neck.  It always felt cool to the touch, no matter the temperature of the surrounding air or fur.  He smiled warmly as he closed his eyes and rested his head on his other arm that he had folded behind it and took a deep breath.  “Perfect day,” he muttered to no one in particular.

Kaji felt the left pocket of his shorts begin to vibrate.  He shifted his hips so that he could reach into his pocket and retrieve his cell phone without having to move much more, the sun beginning to make him rather lethargic.  He brought the phone up to his face, momentarily blocking the sun with his paw and squinting so that he could read the name.  An eyebrow raised, he pushed the green “answer” button and held the phone up to his ear.  “Hello?” he asked.

“Kaji!” came the excited response on the other end, the male on the line obviously elated that the draolf picked up.  “Glad you haven’t been taking negatively my missing your calls.  I’m sorry, babe -- life happens when you’re busy making other plans, y’know?”

“Well, it’s about time you called me back, Draco,” chuckled the draolf. He always found it rather hard to stay mad at the dragon, even when times got to be the most annoying between trying to get a hold of him and trying to keep his attention focused. “But it’s good to hear your voice again.  What’s up, big an’ gold?”

The golden dragon chuckled as he leaned against the wall of the gym he was working out at, the phone held to his ear by the beast’s innate power, both of his hands curling thick, steel dumbbells.  The dragon’s powerful muscles bulged and flexed with every movement of the heavy weights.  “Well, you know,” he grinned as his tail wrapped around a third barbell and began hoisting it up and down as well in time with his other movements.  “The usual.  Me.”

Kaji snickered as he leaned his head to the side, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder.  “Well, that’s no surprise.  So to what do I owe the honor of this phone call?”

Draco paused in his workout momentarily, releasing the weights so that all three of them were floating in midair right where he left them as he grabbed the phone and turned away from them.  “Well, I thought about coming out to see you soon.  It’s been a while since we hung out and spread mischief.”

Kaji’s mind flickered to all of the times that he and Draco had spent time together since they met a few years back in Pittsburgh.  It had been a rather wild ride, the draolf remembered.  “Yeah, absolutely!” he grinned, glancing back to the kids playing on the beach.  “When do you want to meet up?”

“How about tomorrow,” came the reply.  “We can meet up for pizza and then go paint the town red.”

“You mean white,” chuckled the hybrid.  “Unless you’ve started bleeding recently.”

The dragon laughed.  “I stand corrected.  So.  It’s a date?”  The weights hanging in midair disappeared with a flick of his wrist and a flash of his eyes.

“I can’t wait,” replied the chimera, the grin plastered on his face.  He suddenly glanced around to ensure no one was watching as he reached down to adjust the thick bulge beginning to form in his shorts.  “I’ll be at my apartment after work at 7:00.  Do you remember where it is?”

“I remember,” returned the dragon, summoning a plastic cup with a smoothie inside it, taking a sip from it.  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright,” said Kaji.  “Until then.”

“Enjoy the eclipse,” Draco added, almost as an afterthought.  “NASA said this one was going to be really interesting.”

The hybrid let out a mirthful chuckle.  “Spare me the details,” he grinned.  “I want to see it for myself.”

The dragon grinned wide.  “Oh, alright,” he rumbled.  “If you insist.  See you later!”

“Take care,” responded the dracolupine as he pressed the “end call” button and slid the phone back into his pocket.  He once again fingered the jade fang hanging from his neck, grinning as his anticipation for Draco’s visit grew.

That grin widened over the mutt’s muzzle as his imagination started to take flight, beginning to think of the things that they could be doing. If he had learned anything about that golden dragon and their little ‘dates’, it’s that anything probably could and would happen once they got going. Kaji’s hazel eyes flicked out over the ocean, a bit clouded by his imagination as his daydreaming took over, the grin turning into a goofy smile as he chuckled happily.

A roar of excitement suddenly filled the crowd as the sun's rays began to be blotted out by the moon.  Kaji grinned to himself, imagining that the orb slowly moving in the way of the sun wasn't the moon, but one of Draco's balls.  He had to realign the head of his shaft as it suddenly bulged painfully against the bottom of his shorts, sighing as he managed to maneuver it so that it slid partially down one leg of his shorts.  Cursing mildly, he forced his mind away from those thoughts lest he give someone paying attention to the thickening swell inside his cargoes an unnecessary show. By now, everyone had broken out their pinhole cameras to watch the eclipse, most of which had been assembled from old shoeboxes. As he gazed up into the sky, watching the sun slowly become less and less visible, he cleared his throat as he attempted to relax and watch the rest of the spectacle.  While lying there, the breeze suddenly picked up a bit and the sand beneath him felt a bit warmer than before.  By now, the moon had blocked half of the sun from view, and Kaji felt his heart begin to race.
 
His breath caught in his chest.  The sun's corona was nearly visible as the moon continued its trek across the sky, and the hybrid felt his pants tighten again, making him squirm uncomfortably.  He shuddered as he felt a spike of sensation trickle along his spine, and opened his eyes and muzzle in surprise.  While furs next to him were uttering 'oohs' and 'ahhs', the draolf had a hard time suppressing a loud groan.
 
His chest burned.  No, something pressing against his chest burned!  He reached down to grasp the jade fang hanging around his neck just as the moon moved directly in front of the sun and plunged the beach into a muted darkness.  A wave of intense pleasure washed up his spine and he couldn't help himself.  The hybrid arched his back and gave out a loud, guttural moan as his body convulsed into a sudden orgasm, his shaft sending thick jets of his seed into his shorts only to drip from the open legs and speckle the sand.  The intensity of his release numbed his mind; as he began to come down off the euphoric rush, his body fell to the ground, limp, and he lost consciousness, his field of vision fading to black.
 
He came to with a grunt.  His eyes slowly fluttered open and then shut quickly again as his vision was filled with blinding white.  "Fuck me," he groaned, his body aching all over.  "Am I dead?"
 
"Not quite," came an immediate response from a voice the hybrid didn't recognize.  Kaji blinked his eyes open and squinted as he moved to sit up, but large hands firmly grasped his shoulders and pressed him back down to the floor.  "You should lay there for a few more moments.  Let your body adjust."
 
"Where am I?  Who are you?" asked the dragon-wolf, his eyes trying to focus on the figure before him.  Even with his greatly-diminished vision he could tell that someone or something huge was taking care of him.  "And more importantly, why do my eyes hurt?"
 
The figure regarded the mixed-breed for a moment before finally responding, "It'll pass.  Mortal eyes were never meant to see this place.  You're not in Oregon anymore, Kaji.  Well, at least, not spiritually."
 
"Spiritually?" the hybrid choked.  "I thought you said I wasn't dead!"
 
"You're not," replied the figure.  "Far from it.  You're having something akin to an out-of-body experience.  It's hard to explain."
 
The draolf squirmed.  "I still feel sand beneath me," he observed, gripping at the smooth floor.  "How can that be?"
 
"Your mind remembers.  It imprinted itself with the image of the beach you were laying on.  That's why you taste salty sea-air and feel the grit of the sand."  He paused.  "How is your vision?  Is it clearer yet?"
 
Kaji opened his eyes once more and didn't have to squint near as hard this time.  He blinked as his eyes met up with a thick, furry wall of abdomen.  The hybrid slowly raised his eyes, trailing up the powerfully-chiseled core to a pair of pecs that put slabs of concrete to shame.  Beyond the mountain range of muscle rested the concerned visage of a strikingly handsome minotaur.  He blinked again, his eyebrows raised.  "Much," he stated.
 
The huge bovine chuckled and nodded.  "Good," he rumbled, "that didn't take as long as I had anticipated."  He moved to help Kaji sit up slowly.  "Let your body adjust slowly.  You'll be fine in a couple moments."
 
"You still haven't answered two of my questions," the dracolupine stated as he gingerly sat up.  He took note of his surroundings.  Tall, broad columns stretched high above him where they disappeared into the clouds.  A huge gate stood closed off to his left, illuminated by some unseen light source.  High, towering walls framed the gate on both sides.  A path led away from the entry way, its stone bricks looking to be composed of the same marble stone as the floor he was sitting on.  A cool, gentle breeze blew through his fur.  It was at this point the draolf noticed his clothes were missing.  His eyes widened as they trailed down along a body he wore that he didn't recognize, his lankier physique now swollen with thick, large, powerful brawn.  As he flexed his arms and chest experimentally, he added, "And more are beginning to form."
 
"My name is Axius.  I'm not from your world," the minotaur responded. "You're in a sort of Limbo, but not the kind you know about.  Instead of being a place where souls go after their bodies die, this Limbo is more a place where souls go when the Awakening happens."
 
Kaji regarded Axius with a look.  The minotaur hastily continued, "Your necklace - the jade fang - is actually a mana battery.  It is an ancient vessel for storing celestial energy.  Your particular adornment was used by shamans and witch doctors in the past to assist in the dark arts.  It has laid dormant over a thousand years, gradually building up power.  Remember the car wreck where you were ejected from your seat, thrown through the windshield, and slammed into the asphalt?  You rose from the ground, sore but unharmed.  Times like that were attributed to the necklace lending you some of its power.  Whenever you were in immediate danger, the fang would protect you."  He paused, "It would normally take hundreds of years for the artifact to accumulate enough power to trigger an Awakening but over the past few years, it has been leeching off of your dragon friend whenever you two were together."
 
"You know about Draco?" the draolf grinned.  It was more an observation than a question.
 
The minotaur nodded with a frown.  "Yes, we know of him.  One does not accumulate that kind of power, use it in such twisted manners, and not catch the attention of the pantheons.  Many do not like him."  He waved a broad hand dismissively.  "The eclipse, along with the exact position of the failed star that you call Jupiter, triggered the jade fang's power, transporting you here."
 
Kaji frowned, "And where, exactly, is 'here'?"
 
Axius stood to his feet, towering over the chimera as he offered a hand to help Kaji to his feet.  The hybrid grasped the larger hand with his own and shakily stood to a vertical base.  "Welcome," rumbled the minotaur, "to Anacia, the Gateway of the Gods." 
 
Beyond the towering gate, a massive city stretched out endlessly in all directions.  Kaji lost count of the towering structures and spires that reached into the skies, hundreds of thousands of enormous buildings rising high out of the ground.  The metropolis was abuzz with thousands of furs, all of them dressed as though they lived in ancient Greece: mainly togas or loincloths of white cloth.  Kaji also noticed that every one of the beasts he witnessed milling around the city were heavily muscled, their clothing straining around their impressive physiques.  It suddenly reminded him of his nudity, but he gasped as he felt a loincloth form around his genitals and cinch around his waist.  He peered back at Axius.  "Aw, you shouldn't have," he grinned. 
 
The minotaur grinned right back.  "I didn't."
 
~~~
 
The crowds had begun to thin out along the beachside now.  Furs had started dispersing once the sun's rays began beating down over the populace once more.  More than a few furs stepped over the prone draolf still laying on the beach towel, his chest slowly rising and falling.  No one bothered to disturb him, figuring that he was asleep.
 
A flash of light formed beside the sleeping hybrid, and a portal appeared from which stepped a large, gold-scaled leg.  Furs heading that direction suddenly shifted away in alarm as a huge dragon emerged from the opening in space-time.  He knelt down beside the hybrid and placed a large hand over the chimera's heart.  "Kaji," he rumbled, "what the hell just happened?"  Carefully, the dragon eased the limp form of his friend into his arms, stood back up, and returned to the portal amongst the confused onlookers.  The portal closed soundlessly as the pair disappeared into it.
 
~~~
 
Axius led the dragon-wolf through the busy city streets.  Kaji had a hard time trying to focus on what the minotaur was talking about as the city itself and its immensely-endowed citizens constantly diverted the hybrid's attention.  More than once, he almost barrelled right into his guide when Axius would stop to point something out when Kaji's eyes and mind were elsewhere.  It seemed every time the draolf would see someone that registered as the most muscled being he'd ever seen, someone else would round a corner that would put the former giant to shame.  Kaji had never been surrounded by so much beef, so much raw testosterone, in all his life, and he was taking every opportunity to gawk at the enormous muscles on display.
 
"Have you heard anything I've said at all?" Axius suddenly asked, his thick arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at the hybrid, a smirk stretching one side of his muzzle back toward his cheekbone.
 
"Huh?" queried Kaji, blinking as he turned his head to face the minotaur again, having had to almost literally tear his eyes off the groin of a mammoth tiger that seemed to be packing an anaconda and a pair of bowling balls behind his loincloth.
 
"That's what I thought," the bovine grinned.  "C'mon," he said, motioning to a tall monolith off to the side of the road they were currently traveling.
 
"Where are we going again?" asked Kaji, realizing that he had missed that tidbit of information while he was staring at one of the titans he had passed.
 
"To meet the remainder of that fang around your neck," replied Axius as he grasped a door handle and tugged on it, opening the base of the tower.
 
Kaji fingered the cool jade ornament as he passed through the doorway and into the spacious cylindrical tower.  A large dais was suspended above the floor with steps leading out from either side in a curving path to the floor.  Atop the dais, seated on his haunches behind a huge marble desk, was a large Eastern dragon whose scales shimmered with preternatural beauty.  He seemed busy writing something down in a book on his desk, an abacus and a set of scales sitting within arm's reach.  Kaji noticed immediately that the dragon was nowhere near as muscular as the others he had seen out walking the city streets.  "This is Zalios, a God of Balance," said Axius.  The diety's head rose at the mention of his name.  Zalios stood on his four legs and nimbly descended the staircase to his left, coming to rest before the draolf and minotaur.
 
"Axius," greeted the dragon, his voice rumbling, "nice to see you again.  To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"  He regarded Kaji with a neutral gaze.
 
"Zalios, this is Kaji.  From Earth," said the bovine, placing emphasis on the mutt’'s origins.
 
"A mortal?  Here?" the dragon blinked incredulously, looking back to Axius.  "How did this happen?  How -could- this happen?"
 
"It seems you had a part to play in that, Zalios," returned Axius.  The minotaur raised a hand and the jade fang floated up into Kaji's vision.  Zalios raised an eyeridge and reached back into his snout, feeling the spot where the fang had once been, then smirked and fondled one of the long, wispy handlebar-whiskers that grew from his snout.  "I wondered if I'd ever see that again.  I lost it during The Schism.  It's good to see that it got away from those fallen shaman.  Well, that explains some of it.  How did the fang acquire such power?"
 
The minotaur shuffled on his cloven hooves at the question.  Meanwhile, Kaji beamed and responded, "I'm friends with Draco!"
 
The frown that overcame Zalios' face made the draolf's grin disappear and heart stop.  "Ah, yes," growled the dragon, "that certainly explains it."
 
"I don't understand;" said Kaji, put off by Zalios' reaction, "why does everyone dislike him?  He's never done anything wrong!"
 
"Of course you don't understand!" snapped Zalios.  "You're not the one responsible for countering his exploits!"
 
"Zalios is a god of balance, Kaji," explained the minotaur.  "When chaotic things happen, it's up to him and those charged with the same responsibilities to ensure the delicate nature of things doesn't tip one way or the other.  While I'm sure you think Draco's intentions are pure, the chaotic ways in which he uses his powers can sometimes throw off the cosmic scales.  It can sometimes make Zalios' job more difficult."
 
"That whelp should never have found that necklace!" sneered the dragon.  "It's only by the grace of Aldius that he was ever allowed to keep it!"
 
"It was Aldius' decision to make!" thundered the minotaur.  "You know as well as I that some of the things He does make little sense to us.  He chose Draco for a reason.  We can only wait and see.” 

"He's busy having too much fun to worry about the natural order of things," complained the dragon, turning away from the pair.  "It seems every week I have to clean up a new mess caused by that upstart."
 
Kaji hid a smirk as best he could.  He'd seen, and been part of, some epic "messes" that his dragon friend had made.  The memories that flooded his mind made a soft purr roll from his throat.
 
"Forgive me, Kaji," Zalios sighed as he faced the hybrid once more, all malice drained from his voice.  "I hope this hasn't tarnished your outlook on me.  You must understand that I have nothing personal against your friend.  I just wish he'd learn some restraint."
 
Kaji shook his head.  "Put into perspective, I can understand why you feel the way you do.  Draco is a carefree spirit, I admit.  But when the time comes, I'm sure you'll come to know him as I have."
 
~~~
 
Draco wet a washcloth with cold water and laid it across the dragon-wolf’s forehead.  Kaji had been unconscious for several hours, lightly dozing.  The dragon knew his friend was alright and what had happened to him.  All he could do was wait for the fledgling god's soul to rejoin his body back in the mortal realm.  Draco could have transported himself to Anacia any time he wanted, but knew what would await him if he did.  No doubt Zalios would seek him out to scold him for his most recent exploits, including his friend's recent Awakening.  He turned his gaze to the ceiling, searching his thoughts for reassurance from Aldius.  It had been ages since the dragon had besought Him for advice, and he hoped the Avatar hadn't stopped listening.
 
"Fret not, Child."  Aldius' gentle bass filled his mind.
 
"Good," Draco said telepathically, eyes closing in relief, "You haven't stopped listening."
 
"It has been eons, Draco," rumbled the Avatar, "but I expected you would be in need of my guidance soon enough.  I never turn a deaf ear to my Children."

~~~

Kaji and Axius had made their way through the city of Anacia towards the main compound where Aldius and the other Elder Gods resided.  The sights still kept Kaji rather distracted, and more than once Axius had to struggle to regain the draolf’s attention.

Aldius’ temple rose higher than any other building dotting Anacia’s skyline.  Huge spires glittered with fractured light, massive gemstones inlaid in the brick cascading brilliant rainbows all along the giant stone bricks that composed the main fortifying walls.  Leading up to the ornate double doors was a long, winding set of stone steps that Kaji had initially balked at having to ascend.  But once they reached the summit, the hybrid was pleased to realize that his new stamina kept him from feeling the slightest bit winded.  His leg muscles burned in all the right ways, yet he felt as though he could have ascended ten or twenty more of those staircases without breaking a sweat.  

Axius wasted no time, pushing open the gigantic marble doors and leading the hybrid into the vast antechamber that could have housed five football stadiums with room to spare.  Kaji was amazed at the size of the room: he was forced to turn his head in a 180-degree arc just to take in most of the spectacle.  Huge tapestries hung from ramparts that were suspended from colossal, moulded pillars that reached higher than the hybrid cared to estimate.  The tapestries themselves looked to have been made of the finest linen with gold silk woven in intricate patterns.  Symbols of more gold silk ran the length of the tapestries forming words of a language Kaji did not recognize.

A sharp whistle brought his attention back to the minotaur waiting, albeit impatiently, at the foot of another set of stairs that led up to a stone dais.  Kaji hurried along to catch up, somewhat saddened that he could not take in more of the stunning details of the antechamber.  They ascended these stairs two at a time, the bovine’s steps keeping the draolf rushing to stay at his side.

“Where are we going in such a --”  The hybrid blinked, realizing that the minotaur was suddenly not with him.  He spun around, grumbling at how he could somehow lose someone so massive, when a deep, rumbling voice filled his thoughts.

“Welcome, my Child.”

The mutt blinked again and his head shot up as he realized his surroundings had changed.  He was no longer in the temple -- or at least he didn’t think he was.  Everything had disappeared into a fine, white mist that circled around his paws.  A new sensation flooded Kaji’s brain, one that made him shiver as he realized that he could sense the essence of the other being with him.  The aura he felt made his fur stand on end while his eyes and jaws gaped in silent awe. 

The mists at his feet began to slowly swirl and gather before him.  Kaji took a step back, watching as more and more of the circling vapours began to bulge and stretch into his vision, forming a semi-humanoid form.  Larger and larger the blob of mist swelled until it filled most of the hybrid’s field of view.  A broad, thick-fingered paw emerged, tipped with ivory claws.  Gold rings adorned the majority of those fingers, each inlaid with a different precious gem.  Tawny, brown fur rippled over huge cords of brawn as the outstretched hand brought with it an immense arm.  “I am Aldius,” the mist-being rumbled before a positively huge lion emerged from the swirling clouds.

The draolf took another instinctive step back before his brain caught up with him.  Immediately, averting his gaze to the ground, he dropped to one knee.  Without being fully aware of himself, Kaji addressed the lion that had appeared before him.  “My Lord,” he announced reverently, eyes darting back and forth nervously between the beast’s immense feet. 

A deep laugh, rumbling like thunder, erupted from the Avatar’s chest.  “While I appreciate your humility, that will not be necessary.  Please, stand.”  Kaji stood, whether it was of his own accord or of the influence of the Elder before him he was unable to say.  “Gaze upon me.”  The draolf felt his head raise, roaming over the pillars of might that held this mighty creature upright.  Kaji noticed that Aldius was adorned in only a loincloth spun of gold silk, the flimsy fabric stretched taut around a modest, but not unimpressive endowment.  Aldius chuckled deeply, the bass of his voice sending another involuntary shudder up the hybrid’s spine.  “Relax your thoughts, Kaji; and to coin a phrase, my eyes are up here.”  

The hybrid blushed and immediately looked up only to meet the visage of the strikingly handsome lion, who was adorned with a long, thick, flowing mane, amber eyes, and a large, wide grin full of bright, sharp teeth.  He then remembered to breathe.  “F-Forgive me,” he stuttered, recalling how to form words and put them into coherent sentences.  “I didn’t mean to stare.”

A mirthful smile played across Aldius’ muzzle.  “Your scent states otherwise,” he grinned, causing the draolf’s blush to deepen across his face.  The lion crossed his arms over his expansive chest, the simple action causing the generous swell of his biceps to smash and crush against his pectoral shelf, fighting for room on his enormous body.  

“I sense that you have many questions, Kaji,” he rumbled, “and I will answer them all in time.  However, for now, I simply desire a private conference with you.  Your Awakening was not accidental in nature.  It was more than a celestial coincidence.” 

“You mean that Zalios’ fang, my friendship with Draco, and the solar eclipse were all...” 

“Orchestrated by me,” the lion nodded.  “I sensed great potential in you from the day you were born given your raw, natural talent with the elemental forces of fire and lightning.  Your mastery of those elements combined with your overall proclivity in their use made you a natural fit.”

“So what about Draco?” asked Kaji.

Aldius chuckled.  “One day, perhaps you should ask him that yourself.”

~~~~

The hybrid sat up with a start, his hands gripping the bedsheets.  He was back in his bedroom.  Without having to look over by the window, the draolf sensed that Draco was sitting there, staring out of it at the thunderstorm raging on outside.

“Welcome back, Kaji,” observed the dragon, gazing at the slight reflection the lamp on the nightstand next the hybrid’s bed cast in the window pane.  He grinned as he turned around in the chair and propped his elbows on his knees.  Thunder boomed in the distance as he gazed over at his friend.  “I bet Zalios was pissed.”

The hybrid turned to look at his friend sitting in the chair.  “You never told me that you had such interesting friends,” he grinned.  “Axius is hot!”  Kaji thought for a moment, then chuckled.  “Actually, everyone is hot.”

“Well,” snickered the dragon, “it wouldn’t be heaven if it weren’t worth looking forward to, now would it?”  He leaned back in the chair and sighed.  “So, you’ve been Awakened.  Now you need to learn exactly what that means.”

The draolf slid the covers off of him and scooted himself to the edge of his bed.  “So, when do we start?” He gave a curious tilt of his head as his tail flicked, trapped under the mass of blankets behind him. He was obviously somewhat excited about the meaning of it. After all, he’d watched Draco do so many wondrous things. 

The dragon chuckled as he noticed the child-like innocence in his friend’s eyes.  “We’ll start right now,” stated the dragon.  “Let’s go outside.”

“Outside?” question the draolf.  “In this weather?”

“Lesson One:” grinned the dragon.  “Existence is what you make of it.  What weather would you prefer we work in?”

Kaji stared out the window at the pouring rain and flinched a little as a bright flash of lightning and a loud crack of thunder made his house rattle.  “Definitely not that,” he stated flatly.  “Something more … sunshine-y.”

Draco nodded and stood from his chair, pulling the drapes closed.  With a flourish, he threw them open again to let the ample light in from outside.  Birds chirped as they fluttered past the window, now devoid of any rain droplets whatsoever.  Kaji rubbed his eyes as he stood slowly from the bed and moved towards his friend, peering out the window into the clear, blue sky.  “Amazing,” he breathed.

“You try,” said the dragon, taking a step back.  “Just concentrate on the type of weather you want.  The universe does the rest for you.”

Kaji peered at Draco for a moment before he turned back to the window.  He closed his eyes and brought both of his hands up to grip the curtains.  As he tugged them slowly closed, he thought about a winter scene, during a heavy snowstorm.  The window suddenly seemed much colder to the touch.  He cautiously opened one eye and peered through the drapes, opening them just enough to poke his head through.  His breath caught in his chest as he pushed the curtains open, revealing a thick blanket of heavy snow, massive flakes falling from overcast skies.  The draolf placed his paw to the glass as he stared out at the weather he had just desired into existence, watching as children played in it and made snowmen, as if it always snowed in the middle of August.  He looked back to Draco, an eyebrow raised.

“For them,” the dragon explained, pointing back to the kits playing in the snow, “this is way things have always been.  If you returned it back to a warm summer day, their perception, and the perception of the universe, would change as if it had always been that way.”  At Kaji’s expression of wonderment -- that being a huge grin and a glint of mischief in his eyes, Draco held up a finger cautiously.  “This is not to say that you should use your abilities to totally screw with people just because you can.  That is, of course, unless you want to end up on Zalios’ shit list.”

“Still,” smiled the mutt, “I want to try one more time.”

The dragon nodded and once again stepped back to let Kaji work the magic.  The draolf pulled the curtains closed once more, smiling as he pictured his perfect day.  With a grin, he pulled them back again to reveal a warm, spring-like atmosphere.  Cottony clouds dotted the sky, a gentle breeze blowing the leaves on the trees.  He reached out and unlocked the window pane, sliding it up along its tracks to let the air circulate in the room.  Inhaling deeply, he grinned and stretched his arms wide open, reveling in his new found power.  “Perfect,” he exhaled.  “Now... let’s go outside.”

“You first,” Draco grinned, suddenly pushing Kaji out the window.  The draolf yipped as he reached out to grab the window sill, missing it by scant inches as he began to fall to the ground. Instinctively, he spread his wings to cushion the fall, and ended up landing gently on his feet before turning around and peering back up at his second-story bedroom window.

“Now what the hell was that about?” he growled, just as Draco perched himself on the window sill and pushed off, leaping high into the air.  The dragon-god performed a pair of perfect flips, his knees tucked into his massive chest, before he landed heavily on the ground in front of the draolf, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Quicker than using the stairs,” remarked the dragon, casually walking past the canine, heading towards the park.  “Nice day for a walk, isn’t it?” he called behind him, leaving Kaji momentarily fuming before the wolf-dragon ran to catch up with his friend.

~~~

Zalios sighed as he sat back on his haunches.  Axius watched him with a withering stare.  “You might as well not even start complaining,” grumbled the minotaur.  “Aldius sent him back to Draco for a reason, and not even you can question it.”

The dragon heaved another sigh and shook his head.  “No, you’re right; of all of Kaji’s friends and acquaintances, there is no one better to show him how to use his abilities than that rogue.”

“Well, I’m finally glad that we agree on some-”

“But there is also no better person to show him how to ABUSE them, either!” sneered Zalios, cutting Axius off.

The minotaur regarded his friend for a long moment, then took a deep breath.  “Look,” he stated flatly, “it’s out of our hands.  I’m sure Draco knows what he is doing.”

“Oh, I’m sure he does, too!” exclaimed the dragon, a morose look on his face.  “He’d better be glad I have more pressing matters to deal with right now.  The Prophecy is nigh to being fulfilled.  Soon, we’ll have a lot more to worry about than those two.”

“What have you seen, Zalios?” asked Axius, his tone suddenly very grim.

“Kahl grows stronger every day,” replied Zalios, one of his hands motioning out toward him as blue mists coalesced into an image of a realm of white-hot flame, an enormously-muscled ram sitting on a throne comprised of giant’s bones.  The ram-beast grinned menacingly, his eyes wreathed in flame.  “It won’t be long now until he’ll have the souls he needs to attempt to start the Second Schism.  If Aldius doesn’t find a champion soon enough, all will be lost.”

“Have you spoken with Aldius about this yet?” the minotaur queried, wringing his large, bovine hands.  “I think he would like to be kept abreast of what’s going on.”

“Not yet,” said Zalios.  “I was waiting until I had heard back from one of my messengers.  It’s been three days.  I can only assume the worst.”

“Then perhaps we should prepare for the worst,” replied the minotaur.

“There’ll be no need in that,” said a new, third voice.  The Elder Avatar, Aldius, appeared from a beam of light that had cascaded through the window as the two others were speaking.  “The Champion has been decided.”

~~~

Draco sat on a bench in the city park, his right hand outstretched.  His eyes began to gleam softly as he coerced more power into his fingertips.  The draolf watched from the ground, his eyes grinning as much as his snout was as he watched the dragon’s outstretched palm.  A small flash of light ignited directly above the draconic hand, and his fingertips began to feed the small glowing point of light more and more of his essence.  It grew and swelled, beginning to slowly rotate as it pulsed outwards until the little ball of fire became a tiny, raging sun.  Draco let his hand fall, the miniature star floating in front of him as Kaji’s jaw gaped open.

“It’s all about converting matter from what it is to what you need it to be,” explained the dragon.  “The general makeup of a star isn’t much different than what can be found here in the atmosphere.  There are some molecules that need to be changed fundamentally, but once you have harnessed the atomic structure, you can make it whatever you want.”

“OmigodIhavetotrythat!” exclaimed the draolf, standing up as Draco dismissed the miniature star with a wave of his hand.

“Now wait, Kaji; there’s more to it than that!  I haven’t quite explained everything!”  But the hybrid was no longer listening.  He stretched out his palm and began concentrating on the molecules of air above his hand, pinpointing them all and beginning to alter their fundamental composition.  A look of intense thought creased the mutt’s features as he focused on his goal, and he gasped delightedly as a spark of light illuminated above his palm, just as it had Draco’s.  The dragon blinked his eyes, watching the fledgling god work his magic.  “By the gods,” he breathed.  “Now, easy... keep control over its rate of rotation and the core temperature.”

The draolf’s look of wonderment quickly turned to intense concentration as he struggled to keep the miniature sun burning above his hand.  Suddenly, and without provocation, it swelled up and shifted to a deep red color.  “Oh shit,” he exclaimed.  “Draco, what’s happening?”

“Pull it back, Kaji,” instructed the dragon, “quickly, before that thing goes supernova!”

“I’m trying!” cried the draolf, the dying star floating above his palm swelling larger and turning a deeper shade of bright red, casting a menacing glow on the pair of deities.  Before Kaji could pull it back under control, the star suddenly exploded, sending cosmic matter scattering for a couple hundred feet.  The white-hot energy fizzled against Kaji’s fur harmlessly, but it set the ground around him on fire.  Thinking quickly, he called upon his elemental powers to put out the fires.  He glanced back to his outstretched palm and sighed, the remnants of a white dwarf star floating dead above it.

“Well,” said Draco, “that could have gone better.  But it could have gone worse, too.”

“Worse how?” questioned the draolf.

“You could have caused a black hole,” replied the dragon flatly.  “And earth wouldn’t have liked that much.”  He grinned and patted the hybrid’s shoulder.  “But that was amazing for a first try!  You really impressed me, Kaji.”

“I’ll get it,” grinned the draolf, grabbing the white dwarf star and wishing it away.  “You’ll see.”

~~~

Thick plumes of flame erupted from the ground below.  Red, molten seas flowed all around a throne comprised of large animal bones, held together by primordial ooze.  Sitting upon the throne was a truly massive ram, his countenance scarred by many past skirmishes and battles.  His eyes gleamed an otherworldly yellow, illuminating his strong cheekbones.  A thick golden nose hoop pierced his nostrils, much like a bull.  Three earrings clipped his left ear, with two more on his right.  His snout, filled with sharp, jagged teeth, glinted in the auburn light given off by the superheated ocean roiling tumultuously beneath the dais on which his throne was situated.  A long mane of scruffy brown hair framed his features, trailing down just over his boulder-like shoulders.  Enormous cannons burst from his shoulders, thick with meaty, densely-packed muscle.  Those thunderous arms were capped with giant hands that could easily palm a medicine ball.  More golden adornments sat around those thick sausage-like fingers.  His chest was no less spectacular, enormous slabs of brawn expanding with every breath the beast took.  A ring pierced each nipple, keeping both extremely hard and sensitive to the touch.  The ram’s pecs sat atop and overshadowed a set of eight cobblestone abdominal muscles that plunged into a simple loincloth that looked full to bursting with a combination of leg muscle and groin.  Thick sequoias grew from his pelvis, corded with sinew and brawn, swollen hamstrings leading into gargantuan quads that formed perfect horseshoes along the rear sides of his legs.  Each leg ended in thick, blunt hooves.

Kahl was every bit a daunting specimen, and he knew it.  He leaned forward in his throne, resting his elbows on his knees as he peered into an image floating in front of him.  A wicked grin spread across his features as he watched the fledgling god attempt to control his new abilities.  The demonram chuckled as he witnessed the experiment go awry, leaning back once more.  “This is better than those mortals’ sitcoms!  I’d get some popcorn, but I hate the taste of burnt kernels.” 

“Sire?” interjected a rumbling voice to the demon’s left.  Kahl turned to face the voice’s owner, a colossal tiger adorned much the same way the ram was, minus the jewelry.  The tiger’s eyes gleamed in the dimmer light to the side of the throne.  “the Generals have assembled.  They are awaiting your command.”

“See to it that they are thoroughly debriefed first, Irelius.  I don’t need this blowing up in our faces much like that mongrel’s little experiment.”  The demon dismissed the image he was watching, and stood to his impressive height, towering over the immense feline by a couple of feet.

Irelius stood to attention and nodded his head.  “It shall be done, sire.”

“Good,” stated the demon, arching his back so that bones popped and shifted.  “Meanwhile, I have to prepare for our guest.  Send Karthus and Malius.  I will need their assistance.”

“Right away, Lord Kahl,” answered the tiger.  “Who are we expecting?”

Kahl’s grin split wider than ever, and his snout became licked in ethereal blue flame.  “An old, old friend.”

~~~

Draco leaned back against a large tree in at the edge of the park, taking a breather.  He and Kaji had been practicing different uses of their abilities for hours at this point, and they were settling back for a small break.  The draolf had impressed the dragon on every test, showing an incredible level of control that the dragon was sure most other people newly blessed with unimaginable power would take ages to learn.  The dragon surmised that the hybrid’s ability to control certain elements before his Awakening lent much to that, but it didn’t mean that Draco was any less stunned.  More than once, Kaji would nearly lose control, only to rein it back in without the dragon’s guidance.  At the moment, Kaji was learning to perfect teleportation and had disappeared only moments before, leaving the dragon to his thoughts.

Draco’s nostrils twitched.  An ill wind approached from behind.  The dragon’s muscles tensed and he shot up to his feet, spinning around to come face-to-face with the snarling visage of a huge, musclebound ram.

“Kahl,” growled the dragon.  “What the hell are you doing here?”

Kahl’s grin would not go away.  “Always a pleasure to see you, too, Draco.  I see you have a new student under your tutelage.  I’m sure Zalios is thrilled with that prospect.”

A small smirk crept onto Draco’s snout.  “Well, to be honest, he’s not happy at all with it.  But I don’t think anything short of my utter removal from existence would totally satisfy that old coot.”

“That’s the problem with Zalios,” grinned Kahl, “he’s so uptight.”

Draco nodded his head.  “Yeah, he is.  He has no idea how to let himself go and just … be.”

The ram crossed his arms over his chest and appraised the dragon.  “You’ve certainly perfected that art.  Nice hair.”

“What, this?” questioned the dragon, turning his head quickly to one side so that the long, brown ponytail rested over one shoulder.  “Heh, yeah.  It was something I’d always wanted to try.  It’s grown on me.”  Draco’s mind suddenly woke up; had he actually been having idle conversation with the demonram?!  “Never mind that,” he said, “seriously, what are you doing here?”

Kahl frowned.  “I have to have an excuse to come visit you nowadays?  Times have changed...”

“That was a long time ago, Kahl; my allegiances lie elsewhere now.  What we had... it can’t be that way.  Not now.”

Kahl’s frown turned into a scowl.  “And what has that goody two-shoes Aldius given you?!  Nothing, Draco!  You’re a pawn to him!”  The dragon shook his head, but Kahl cut him off before he could interject.  “You know what I can offer you.  And you know that I know that you want it.  That you’ve always wanted it.  You’ve never settled for less before.  You never settled for me.”

“You were one of the best things that had ever happened to me,” the dragon agreed, calmly.  “You showed me a side of myself that I never knew existed.  And I have sworn to ensure that it never again emerges.  I would say ‘I’m sorry’, Kahl, but that wouldn’t really be fair because I wouldn’t really mean it.”  Draco took two steps back and settled into a more defensive posture.  “Now.  Tell me what you’re really doing here before I banish you back to that pit you crawled out of.”

Kahl’s grin turned sinister as the ground beneath the dragon exploded outward, propelling the dragon up into the air.  Draco fought to right himself in the air, but found himself suddenly bound, his arms and legs entangled tightly in thick vines that muscled his bulk off the ground.  He struggled against the bindings, amazed that all of his strength seemed useless to him as he was suspended in front of the demon. 

To Kahl’s left materialized two more massive demonbeasts -- one an enormous imp and the other a four-armed grpyhon.  The gryphon seemed to be controlling the vines while the imp infused them with infernal strength.  They both grinned widely at the helpless dragongod squirming before them as Kahl took one step forward closing the gap between he and Draco.

“Why, I’m here for you, of course,” cooed the demon, one claw-tipped finger tracing underneath the dragon’s chin.  “I’ve missed you...so much.  We have much to catch up on.”  With a flick of his free hand, a large, swirling red portal opened up beneath the suspended dragon.  The gryphon’s vines suddenly released Draco, who disappeared into the tear in space.  Kahl clenched his fist and sealed the portal with his captive inside.

His deed done, he turned to his two generals.  Malius, the griffin, had just finished dispelling the vines.  The imp Karthus grinned at their handiwork and dusted his clawed hands as he growled, “Phase Two has already begun, your lordship.  We will alert the other generals.”

“See that you do,” snarled the ram, “and make sure our guest is comfortable.”  With that, the ram disappeared from the mortal realm while his two followers teleported back to Kahl’s stronghold to return to their duties.

Seconds later, a blue portal opened just to the left of the tree Draco had been sitting against.  The draolf stepped clear, wearing a brightly-colored lei of Hawaiian flowers and holding a miniature Godzilla figurine.  “Honolulu and Tokyo are awesome this time of year!” he exclaimed before he blinked and peered over his sunglasses.  “Now where did he get off to,” he wondered aloud as he took a step backwards.  That step landed him right on his rump as he fell into a deep crater that he did not remember being there before he went portal-hopping.  “What the...?  Where did this come from?  And what’s that smell?”  The draolf’s olfactory senses were going haywire.  “Sulfur...?”  A chill ran up his spine as he got to his feet.  The crater was strange, but the sensation he got from sitting in it was far worse. 

The hybrid climbed back out of the crater in the ground and closed his eyes, trying to sense the dragon’s whereabouts, just as Draco had taught him to do.  Tendrils of his subconscious reached far across the globe, searching in a thousand-mile radius, yet could find no trace of his friend anywhere.  With a frown, he opened another blue doorway, peering inside to see Anacia’s shining spires, and stepped through, emerging at the doorway to Zalios’ study.

“Kaji?  What’s wrong?  You look troubled,” said the eastern dragon noticing Kaji’s entrance.

“Something’s happened to Draco,” responded the draolf.  “Have you seen him?  He’s not on Earth.  At least … not that I can sense.”

“If he had shown up in Anacia,” began the dragon, “believe me, I’d know about it.  I’d also have half a mind to kick his ass.”  Zalios shook his head.  “So, no.  He’s not here, either.”

Kaji’s frown deepened.  “How many other realms does he know of?  Would he have hopped to another one?”

“Who knows?” responded Zalios.  “He could be halfway across the multiverse.  But you should be able to track him through his signature.  Every god leaves one.”

“Ah... tracking.  Yeah.  We... haven’t gone through that yet.”  Kaji rubbed the back of his neck, somewhat embarrassed.  “C-could you help me?”

Zalios gazed down at Kaji for a long moment.  Finally, he sighed, and descended the stairs to the lower level.  “Of course I’ll help you.  He may get under my scales something awful, but I suppose that’s his calling.  Now, come.  We haven’t much time.”

“Where are we going?” asked the draolf as the dragon led him by the arm out of the building and towards the middle of the city.

“Axius is the best tracker I’ve ever known.  If he can’t find out what happened, then no one can.”

~~~

Kahl grinned as he stepped up to a cage made of bone, the golden dragon he had captured laying on the ground inside.  It had been almost too easy to subdue the dragon and remove the necklace that he wore around his neck, severing his link to Anacia.  Without the necklace, the dragon -- while still powerful by any mortal stretch of the imagination -- was simply that: a powerful, magic-wielding dragon. 

The huge ram sneered as he simply phased through the bone pillars holding the dragon in.  Draco’s magic, most pressingly his teleportation, was kept in check by his cell.  He stood triumphantly over his quarry as the dragon began to rouse and stir.  “Ohh... my head,” Draco groaned, his clawed fingertips cradling his skull as he moved to slowly sit up.  He shifted his weight as he leaned back against one of the bone bars, then blinked his eyes as he realized that wasn’t steel or concrete.  “Shit,” he spat, realizing in an instant where he was and why he couldn’t leave.  He reached instinctively to his neck and gasped, feeling nothing but his own throat and neck.  “How?” he growled, staring up at the ram who had been grinning down at him this whole time.

“Does it matter? You’re mine now,” chuckled Kahl as he reached down and grabbed the dragon underneath the arms, lifting him into the air, Kahl’s snout mere inches from the dragon’s own.  “Just give in to me, Draco,” he growled, grinning.  “Give in to your desire.  You know what I can give you.”  His demonic gaze bore into the dragon’s blue eyes, Draco’s mind bare to the demon like an open book.  For the first time in a very, very long time, Draco felt mortal fear grip his very soul.

~~~

“What do you mean you can’t find him?” exclaimed the draolf, staring slack-jawed at the minotaur.  “You can’t trace him - his signature?”

Axius sighed and shook his head.  “It’s disappeared from the mortal realm, Kaji.”  He peered back from the glass he was peering into.  “I have my suspicions, though.”

Zalios looked up from the table, his eyes widened.  “You don’t mean...”

“I do,” remarked the minotaur, making the eastern dragon shiver.  “And if Kahl has captured Draco, then Aldius help us.”

“Who is Kahl?” questioned the draolf.  “More importantly, where can I find him?”  The hybrid punched his paws together as his arms and shoulders became licked with ebony flame, flickers of electricity dancing in his wild eyes.

“No,” said Axius.

“No?” repeated Kaji.  “As if you could stop me.”

“Kaji,” began the minotaur, the draolf’s attempt at chivalry falling on deaf ears, “you haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.  Kahl is more than just some demon.”

The hybrid shook his head.  “He has my friend.  That’s all I need to know.”

“I know you’re upset,” Zalios said calmly, attempting to dissuade the mutt’s attempt at suicide, “but you need to understand a few things before you go gallivanting into the depths of Hell on some kind of crusade.”

The minotaur took Kaji’s flaming hands in his own, extinguishing the flame with a flick of his eyes.  “Kahl is a fallen Elder.  He has a history as long as this place and Aldius combined.  He was the First.”

“You mean that Aldius has not always ruled Anacia?”

“Not always, no,” continued Zalios, moving closer to the draolf so that they could together tell the story.  “Before Aldius, there was Kahl.  He was a real leader, someone the entire Pantheon respected.  He was the one who built Anacia from the ground up: he was its architect.”

“Many eons ago,” nodded the minotaur, “before Draco, before Zalios or myself, Kahl ruled all of Anacia fair and justly.  He was an incredible Elder.  Earth rejoiced at his magnificence.  The people that inhabited the planet at that time enjoyed centuries of splendor and prosperity.”

Zalios rested a hand on the Axius’ shoulder.  “Then one day, Kahl decided that his influence over this realm wasn’t enough.  We really don’t know what sparked the flame of power lust in Kahl’s eyes, but it was enough to take Anacia by storm.  The gods, realizing what Kahl was up to and what it would mean for Anacia and Earth and all its people, rose up against him.”

“It took every last one of us to overthrow him and banish him from the realm.  Aldius led the charge that cinched victory for the realm, so naturally he succeeded Kahl as Elder.”  Axius glanced back at the glass he was scrying through moments before.  “It was a short time after that that Aldius named his first Champion.  A being on Earth that he would use as his Avatar to help keep it and its people safe.”

The mutt tilted his head to the side for second before he closed his eyes and asked, “If you’re all deities, then why don’t you just snap your fingers or whatever and right what was wronged? I mean, you have infinite power... shouldn’t you be able to just use that?”

Zalios shook his head softly, “No, we can’t. Take the Greek Myths for example. Do you know why Zeus used lightning bolts as his weapon? It is because that even if a God or a Goddess had infinite power that means that any other deity could reverse what they had changed, thus making things null and void. That’s why you see the Pantheon fight with elements, magic, or their fists. So that way, they can break down the other Gods’ resolve and weaken them so when they use their powers, no one would be there to change it back.” 

Kaji nodded a bit, “And that’s why the Champions were created? So that the Elders and Gods could have them do what they couldn’t?”

“In a way, yes. He said that the creation of these Champions would allow us to tend to more … godly duties,” explained the dragon.  “They could watch over the planet and more directly influence things while we kept the balance of the rest of the realm in check.”

The draolf nodded, a small grin forming on his muzzle.  “Draco was the first Champion.” 

Axius nodded in acknowledgement.  Zalios rolled his eyes a bit.  “As much as I hate to admit it,” he sneered, “yes.  That thorn in my side was Aldius’ Chosen.”

“But as history has shown us, everyone has their price,” continued the bovine.  “And Draco was no different.  A new god by his own right, Kahl used the promise of power to lure the dragon to his side.  Draco was still getting used to his abilities and was really loving the power that the necklace had bestowed upon him.  Kahl’s promise was just too enticing.”  He sighed and leaned back in his chair as he looked over to the dragon sitting next to him.  “He turned his back on us for a long time.  The dark ages that followed allowed Kahl to build up an army.  The fight that ensued lasted centuries.  That was the Schism in which Zalios here lost a fang.”

“Little upstart hit me with a right cross that I didn’t see coming,” said the dragon, rubbing his jaw.  “Draco was much stronger at Kahl’s side.  He was the first General, and easily the most powerful.  Kahl made true on his promise, elevating Draco to nigh-Elder status on his own.  And in return, Draco gave Kahl the keys he needed to topple Anacia.”

“It was another cross-Pantheon effort,” said Axius.  “But in the end, we were able to banish Kahl back to the underworld and remove the taint that the ram had left on Draco’s soul.  Well.  Most of it.”

“What do you mean ‘most of it’?” asked the hybrid.  “You mean to tell me that Draco’s still part demon?”

Zalios fixed him with a stare of disbelief.  “You think that all of his antics are sanctioned by our codes?  Draco was never meant to be an agent of Chaos.  He was never supposed to be able to  tilt the scales of existence in one side’s favor or the other.  He absolutely should not have that kind of power!  But he does.  Kahl got inside him - deep inside his psyche.  His destiny as Aldius’ Chosen was rewritten the moment he fell from Anacia’s graces.  He is, for lack of a better word, a wild card.”

“Alright, got it,” said the dracolupine, taking a step away from the pair.  “So I’ll go talk to Aldius and find out where Kahl is holding Draco.”

“Kaji, wait!” interjected Axius.  “You’re not quite getting this-”

Kaji held up a hand, cutting the minotaur off.  “There’s nothing left to get, Axius.  Draco’s in trouble and I’m going to save him.  He’d do the same for me.”

“You’re walking into a trap,” countered the dragon, “Kahl could just be using Draco to lure you in, and corrupt you as he did the dragon.” 

“Most likely,” agreed Kaji, “but I have to try.  Otherwise, what was the point of all of this?”  He shook his head as the dragon began to interject, interrupting him.  “I’m going.  History lesson’s over. Thank you both for giving me the information I need.”  With that, Kaji simply disappeared from Axius’ quarters.  Silence filled the room, neither god’s gaze leaving the spot from which Kaji vanished.

Finally, Zalios grinned.  “We may have a chance after all.” 

~~~~~

The draolf appeared at the base of Aldius’ temple and made a beeline inside, not stopping to ogle anyone this time around.  He crossed the lavish marble antechamber and sprinted up the stairs, heading towards the Elder’s private quarters.  With the flourish of someone meaning to barge in on someone else, he threw open the door to Aldius’ chamber.  “I need to know where Kahl is keeping Draco,” he blurted as he strolled through the entrance way.

The lion was standing there before him in all of his majestic glory, his arms crossed over his chest.  He gave Kaji a look of bemusement.  “I do not believe there is any way I could attempt to dissuade you from this venture.”

The hybrid shook his head.  “Not a chance, no matter the consequences.”

“I admire your courage, Kaji,” remarked the Elder.  “However, I do not wholly agree with your plan of action.”  Kaji’s head tilted as he prepared to ask just precisely what the hell Aldius meant by that when the Avatar continued.  “But I will not stop you.  You know what you must do.”

The draolf nodded.  “Draco’s in trouble; I’m going to save him.” 

A portal opened up to Kaji’s left. “Then take this portal,” instructed Aldius.  “It will lead you to Kahl’s lair.  Be forewarned - the demon knows you are coming.”

“I expected as much,” grinned the draolf, cracking his knuckles.  “This should be fun.”

“Good luck, Kaji,” said Aldius, a small, reserved grin forming on his muzzle.

“Yep,” responded the draolf.  “He’ll need it.  Thanks, Aldius.” Kaji stepped into the portal and it winked closed behind him.

He emerged in a vast flat plain of scorched dirt.  The heat billowing off the ground could be seen in physical waves, and having just entered the realm Kaji was already beginning to sweat.  He closed his eyes and extended his senses as far as he dared in this hostile world, searching for any sign of his captured friend.  He grinned as he locked onto something familiar -- the dragongod’s necklace.  He bolted in the direction his senses detected the holy object, his footpaws pounding the barren ground as he sped along.

His run directed him toward an enormous medieval-looking castle which he could only assume was the lair of the Demonram.  Resolved, he mentally attempted to contact the dragon, simply thinking to him: “I’m coming, Draco -- don’t you worry!”  As he neared the necklace’s power, he stopped dead in his tracks as half of the energy he recognized as the necklace began … moving away from the other half.  “That’s strange,” mumbled the draolf, continuing to follow the general direction the pair of energy signatures were giving off.  His senses on high alert, both sources seemed to halt deeper within the compound.  However, before he could pursue the matter any further, he heard voices from around a corner of the compound up ahead, heading his direction.  Thinking quickly, the draolf ducked into a darkened alcove along the stone parapet.  

Two distinct voices met the hybrid’s ears.  “Lord Kahl is ready to begin phase three of his plan,” commented the first.  Kaji peered from his hiding spot to see a hugely-muscled hyena speaking to a slightly smaller husky.  Both were adorned in warrior plate armor.  Definitely not the guys in charge.

“Excellent,” replied the grainy bass of the husky.  “I suppose everything is in order then?”

“Mm-hmm,” agreed the hyena, “the prophecy is coming to pass exactly as he willed it to be.”

The canine chuckled darkly.  “Who knew that getting them back together was the catalyst to the start of our victory?” he remarked.

“We haven’t won yet,” cautioned the hyena.  “And don’t forget; Aldius has chosen a Champion and no one knows who it is yet.”

“I hope it’s that pissant upstart of a fledgling god Draco helped create,” remarked the husky.  “That seems the kind of dumbass move Aldius would make -- naming someone so wet behind the ears as his Chosen.”

Kaji’s cheeks flushed with rage.  These two were going to get it as soon as Draco was freed.  As the conversation passed along the hall perpendicular him, Kaji allowed himself a moment to breathe.  When he was certain no one was coming, he sped around the corner the two had emerged from and headed further into the compound.

A massive courtyard opened up before him, lined on all four sides by other parts of the sanctum.  Kaji raced into the center of the courtyard, sensing the necklace energies were very close.  In front of him, two massive fiery portals suddenly opened, which caused Kaji to skid to a stop.  From the portals emerged two demons -- one an imp and the other a gryphon with four muscular arms.

The imp growled as he sized the draolf up.  “Lord Kahl has been expecting you,” he rumbled.

“Yeah?” responded Kaji, his hackles raised, “then why did he send you two clowns out as the welcome wagon?”

“Because Lord Kahl has more important things to do than worry about a nuisance like you,” growled the gryphon, cracking both sets of knuckles.  “Shall we kill him now, Malius, or toy with him first?”

“I got nothin’ better to do, Karthos,” grinned the imp, showing off a maw full of twisted and jagged teeth.  “Might as well enjoy this.”

Karthos lunged for Kaji first, swinging both left arms at the draolf’s head and body.  Kaji deftly ducked under both appendages, emerging on the beast’s left side, and grappled the thick bull neck of his adversary, driving his knee into the small of the gryphon’s back.  Malius leapt into the fray, prying Kaji’s arms from around the gryphon’s neck and delivering a forceful kick to the sternum, sending the draolf staggering a couple of feet backwards.  The gryphon was there in a flash, grappling Kaji with all four arms and holding his arms tight against his body.

“Oh yeah,” snarled Malius, wiping his chin.  “We’re going to enjoy this.”  He reared a meaty fist back to deliver a devastating punch to the trapped draolf when the jade fang Kaji wore around his neck began to gleam, giving the imp pause.  The tooth hovered off Kaji’s chest a couple of inches as it glowed eerily and Kaji felt a resurgence of strength begin to filter through his body.  Kaji’s heart skipped a beat -- it was the same kind of energetic surge he would get from Draco and his necklace!  It was small, but it was enough for him to begin to squirm out of the larger, stronger gryphon’s grip.

“Hurry, Malius!” roared Karthos, struggling to restrain the thrashing draolf.  As the imp’s fist raced towards Kaji’s jaw, the hybrid suddenly worked his arms free and ducked in the nick of time.  Maldius’ momentum carried the punch straight into the gryphon’s jaw.  Karthos squawked in pain as his head was knocked to one side.  Kaji, now free, delivered his own punch, his right fist slamming directly into the imp’s groin.  Malius’s eyes bugged out of his head and he instinctively reached down to belatedly protect his damaged jewels, leaving himself open for an uppercut that sent him sprawling on his back.

The gryphon snarled as he rose to his feet, glancing over to his fallen comrade. “You’re gonna pay dearly for that.”

Kaji circled slowly as Karthos reached into one of the pockets of his robes.  “Put it on my tab,” growled the dracolupine.  “Now tell me where Draco is and I may not have to kill you!”

“Not happenin’,” sneered the gryphon defiantly.  His grin returned as his hand clasped around what he was searching for.

“He’s close,” growled Kaji.  “I can sense his necklace’s energy.”

“Yeah,” agreed Karthos.  “You can.”  The gryphon’s body suddenly shuddered and his breath caught in his throat.  A look of gleeful surprise came over him and he couldn’t help but stifle a moan and growl, “Oh!  So... good...”

Malius was on his knees now, one hand caressing his throbbing genitals, the other reaching into his pocket.  The imp grunted and stood back to his feet.

“What the fuck is going on?” Kaji demanded, his fists igniting in elemental fire.

In response, the ground began to tremble beneath his feet.  Malicious grins spread over both his adversary’s muzzles as they withdrew their hands from their robes, bracelets of familiar blue beads clasped tightly around their wrists.

Kaji’s eyes widened.  Draco’s necklace, split in half, had been fashioned into matching adornments for the pair.  “Aw, shit.”  He thrust both fists out at the pair and sent a torrent of searing-hot flame at them.  Neither made a move to dodge the flame, but laughed as the blast washed over them, bathing them in heat.  Kaji tried turning up the temperature, fire flying from his palms that would have melted steel, but they both stood their ground.  It wasn’t until the draolf ended the attempted attack did he realize that he had not only succeeded in not injuring the pair of demons, but both demons were now taking up considerably more ground.  His jaw gaped as he witnessed both the gryphon and imp swell in size, muscle, and strength, bulging anew with thick chords of brawn.

“Fuck,” muttered the draolf, as the pair swelled to near 40 feet in size, their bulk increasing by the thousands of tons.  He leapt back to dodge a huge kick from Malius, then raced between Karthos’ legs to avoid being stepped on by the avian.  Snarling, the pair of giants rounded on him, continuing to grow.  Now passing 50 feet in height, the imp’s long, barbed tail whipped at the draolf and caught him in the small of the back, the force of the appendage sending the hybrid head over heels.  Kaji shook his head to clear the cobwebs, then quickly rolled to the side to avoid another, even larger stomp by the gryphon.

“LAY STILL!” roared Karthos, but Kaji had already leapt to his feet and had begun gathering lightning into his palms.  Malius released a huge ethereal fireball from his open maw, forcing the draolf to leap to the side to avoid being roasted by the demonic flame and breaking his concentration.  The hybrid landed just in time to receive a vicious kick to the midsection by the now sixty-foot Karthos that sent him soaring backwards into a solid rock wall, embedding the dracolupine deity six inches deep in the bedrock.

Dazed for but a moment, the draolf gathered himself and pushed off the indentation his back had made in the stone and sent a flying thrust-kick at Karthos’ face which connected and sent the giant toppling.  The force admittedly hurt Kaji more than it did the gryphon as the draolf had to spread his wings to catch himself before he plummeted sixty-plus feet to the unforgiving ground.

Another blue fireball whizzed past Kaji’s snout, the heat from the orb of flame singing the hybrid’s nose.  Instinctively, he corrected his position in midair and projected himself towards the still-growing imp who readied another, even larger projectile to hurl at his opponent.  Kaji stopped flapping his wings to drop under the trajectory of the fireball, then used every ounce of his strength and speed to arc back up along the titanic imp’s muscular frame to deliver an uppercut to the squarer jaw of the demon, a near deafening thunderclap echoing out from the impact.  Malius reeled much like the gryphon and he crashed to his back right alongside the avian.  

For a split second, Kaji noticed that the pair of bracelets glowed when the arms of his enormous adversaries neared one another.  The draolf grinned.  He had a plan.

“What the hell are you doing?” bellowed Karthos as his fellow general slammed to the ground beside him.  “He’s barely taller than our ankles at this point!  Why haven’t you crushed him yet??”

“I don’t see you killing him any faster!” retorted the imp.

“Having trouble, boys?” teased the hybrid, his wings keeping him aloft and out of the immediate reach of the two titans who had surpassed 80’ in height by this point.  “I’m just a little bitty god going up against two huge, strong demons!  You should be dominating this fight!”

The pair of them rose to their feet, and Kaji put his plan of action into motion, changing his flight to circle around the imp.  He sent searing bolts of electricity wreathed in fire at Malius’ face, causing the giant to have to shield his eyes with one arm and try to bat away the small menace with the other.  On his third orbit of the ever-enlarging imp’s head, he scored with a bolt of energy straight into Malius’ left eye, causing the imp to roar out in pain and clutch his face.  

Kaji then swung wide and began soaring around Karthos, which made the gryphon squawk in annoyance, three of his arms swinging in wild, crazy arcs to attempt to knock the hybrid out of the air.  Finally, the draolf settled in between the two giants and whistled loudly between his front teeth.  Both titans’ heads rose, Malius’ left eye completely useless and bleeding.  

With a deafening roar, the pair both simultaneously threw enormous fists towards the floating hybrid who suddenly dropped at the last second.  Instead of squishing the dracolupine, their fists collided, sending the beads of their separate bracelets that much closer to one another.  The innate magic of the beads sent a massive shockwave through the temple as both bracelets shattered from the force.  The explosion that ensued sent both titans flying in opposite directions through the stone walls behind them and over the edge of the mesa that Kahl’s lair rested on, only to land in the molten seas that surrounded the castle on three sides.  Kaji panted as he collapsed to the ground to catch his breath, serenaded by the anguished, dying cries of tortuous pain as the two generals slowly melted into slag.  The individual beads of the two bracelets plinked harmlessly to the ground.  Kaji made quick work gathering them all up and simply wishing them back to his bedroom on Earth.

The draolf pulled himself to his feet, determination streaked across his face.  If Draco’s necklace had somehow been removed... that meant that dragon was in mortal danger.  He raced from the courtyard and headed north through a wide hallway that ultimately led to a huge throne room.  Off to the left of the stone dias was a makeshift cage made out of enormous bones.  The throne was devoid of its normal occupant.  In fact, considering the majority of the fortress Kaji had traversed, he was surprised by the sheer number of demons he didn’t see.  This left him with a sense of dread that he couldn’t readily shake.  Perhaps the “phase three” the soldier demon he overheard was already underway.

Quietly, he crept over to the makeshift cage and peered inside.  The cage was also empty, save for a single shimmering golden scale.  Draco had been there, but now as he once again spread his senses to search for the dragon, he realized that was no longer the case.  Kahl had transported him somewhere else.  Crestfallen, but never one to give up hope, the draolf decided to return to Anacia to seek out Axius’ help again.  Perhaps Draco was somewhere on Earth.  That was a big planet -- too big for Kaji to scan by himself.  But the master tracker would be able to perform another sweep for his friend and at this point Kaji couldn’t come up with any other option.  With a flick of his wrist, he ripped open a doorway between dimensions and stepped through.

When Kaji arrived from the swirling portal, he emerged into the heart of Anacia’s inner city.  The scene that unfolded before him made his breath catch in his throat and his heart stop.  Anacia was in ruins. Buildings were devastated as they lay burning and crumbled. Walls were caved into the structures that they once helped contain. Destruction was everywhere. Smoke billowed up into the sky in the distant parts of the godly city.

The draolf’s ears caught a distressed cry for help coming from up ahead.  He bolted in the direction of the sound, his feet pounding against the marble pathways that made up Anacia’s streets.  Sensing he was close enough, he slowed his pace as he neared a building situated on a corner.  The hybrid pressed himself up against the smooth stone of the building, his heart racing.  He took a deep breath and held it as he slowly peeked around the edge of the building.

For the second time in as many minutes, Kaji’s blood froze in his veins.  About a hundred yards away, hunched over a broken and battered body, was a dragon that very closely resembled Draco.  The beast wore blue jean shorts and had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail much like his friend.  But this dragon was different.  Kaji could feel the waves of sinister power flowing off the beast from where he stood.  The aura was almost palpable; the draolf was sure he was tasting it in the back of his throat.

The body he stood over was one of the other deities Kaji did not recognize, but the panther looked pretty worse for wear, fresh blood flowing from cuts all over his torso as if the dragon were working on physically disemboweling the creature.  Kaji noticed that the panther-god was still breathing.  The dragon must have noticed this too, for he raised both blood-soaked fists up for a killing blow.

“Oi!” 

A shunt of air pushed through the area, slamming into the dragon just as he was about to put the finishing blow down onto a fellow deity. A feral growl rumbled through his throat as he righted himself and turned his head to glare at the hybrid. He quirked a brow slightly before he let out a deep chuckle. “Oh, so you finally came. I was wondering when you’d get here.” A toothy sneer spread over his lips as he stepped away from the fallen god.

Kaji froze for an instant -- it was Draco!  The draolf’s eyes narrowed at the dragon, and his hands clenched as he growled, “Why the hell did you do this? What the fuck where you thinking!” His hands flew out to his sides as lightning crackled up and down the lengths of his arms. 

Draco never stopped his casual stroll towards the draolf, and he snorted.  “Isn’t it obvious? He had power. He had what I wanted. What I nee-”

The dragon’s response was cut short by an sable fist slamming into the side of his jaw, catching him off guard enough to send him stumbling a few feet to the side. 

“You fucking idiot!” yelled the mutt as he panted in anger. His eyes were sparking with pent up rage before he shook his head. “You don’t need him or his power! You’re above this, Draco!” He took a few steps back as he shook his head trying to wish this away.  But each time he looked at his friend, his resolve that it wasn’t what it seemed was fading. 

The dragon put a hand to his cheek, rolling his jaw for a moment before he suddenly lunged forward and grabbed both of Kaji’s shoulders as he whispered into Kaji’s ear, “You don’t know what I need.” The dragon suddenly reared a fist back and slammed it into the hybrid’s gut. The impact slammed the draolf through several stone walls, before he crashed into a much thicker marble column and slid to the ground in a heap, slumped against it, his head ringing. 

A few seconds of silence passed before Kaji stood back up, his fur flickering like flames as his eyes glowed an unearthly green. Electricity crackled over his wings and arms. “If that’s how you see it,” murmured the hybrid as he looked through the wreckage at the grinning dragon, “then I’ll have to beat sense back into you.” The dust around him billowed outwards as he shot towards his adversary. 

An echoing boom sounded as Draco caught the draolf’s fist and pulled him closer, slamming his knee upwards into the hybrid’s gut, forcing the air out of Kaji’s lungs before he unceremoniously drove the hybrid into the ground with a loud thud. Chortling, he brought his foot back and kicked the chimera in the side, making him roll a few feet away.  “What was that about beating sense into me?” he mocked.  “You’re certainly not doing a very good job.” 

The draolf pushed himself up to his hands and knees and spit some steaming blood to the side, licking at his hackles for a moment. Those hits didn’t feel anything like the times he and the dragon had sparred in the past.  They weren’t cautious of the power behind them.  They were filled with pure malice, an emotion the draolf never remembered ever having felt from the Draco he knew.  “Just trying to see if you were still in there. Seems like I’m going to have to step up my game.”

A rush of wind burst out as the draolf vanished from sight, sending Draco on the defensive. The air around the golden beast wavered for a moment as his hands tensed up at his side, readying to grapple Kaji as soon as he reappeared. A spike of pain lanced down the dragon’s arm as gashes formed on his left shoulder, scorch marks forming around the wounds as he spun around to avoid further contact. He swung in the direction of the attack with a mean right hook to try and catch the mutt but Draco’s hands only felt empty air. He let out a loud growl of pain as more scorched gashes flowed down that outstretched arm, cutting into the compacted muscle that he possessed. A crazed look in his eye, the dragon attempted a left cross at the invisible assailant, only to be met with new wounds on that arm as well.  

“That’s it!!” he roared, flaring his wings out, and released a burst of magic that physically slowed time around him. Snarling, he quickly scanned the area and managed to catch where light bent around the hybrid’s invisible form. Draco’s grin split wide across his face as he reared his clenched fist, claws becoming engulfed with ethereal blue flame.  

The dragon drew his fist back, his arm bulging before he shoved it forwards with a roar and slammed his flame-wreathed knuckles into the hybrid’s head, simultaneously releasing the time spell as the attack slammed Kaji into the ground a good few dozen feet away, the draolf’s momentum sending him rolling several additional feet before he skid to a stop, motionless. 

Draco raced forward, emitting an enraged cry as he punted the hybrid into the air like a football player kicking a field goal. Kaji’s limp body tore through several more buildings before finally bursting through a roof a block away. Luckily, his wing caught on the shattered stone and kept him from being flung any further, his body collapsing onto the marble rooftop.  With a grunt, he slowly pulled himself to a kneeling position, panting heavily as he glared down at the dragon. A pain in his side stabbed him -- perhaps a broken rib?  His eyes clenched shut and he snarled against the fresh agonizing sensation.

Air sizzled to Kaji’s right as a blast of searing energy raced just past him. He blinked his eyes open and glanced back down at Draco just in time to watch another blast of power be flung toward him.  He folded his wings in as he dropped to his stomach to dodge it, eliciting another moan of pain caused by his broken rib.  An eruption of stone to his left from another bolt of power brought his focus back and he managed to scramble to his feet, only having to flare open his wings a second later to roll into the air out of the way of another blast of energy. Deftly, he leaned backwards, arching his back to dodge yet another volley of the white-hot projectiles only to get hit in the gut by a stray bolt of it, the hybrid’s body seizing as felt the magic pulse through his body, every nerve ending burning simultaneously. With a grunt, his body crumpled into the weakened roof before the whole structure collapsed beneath him, crashing to the ground below.  “God... damn... fucking... magic,” he coughed, his eyes clenched shut as he sensed another rib or two may have been shattered by that fall.

Gathering every ounce of reserve, Kaji tried once more to push himself up.  Pain wracked his body, causing him to take a deep inward breath which only put more pressure on his broken ribs.  He staggered forward a step before his legs simply gave out and he collapsed again, this time to one knee.  “I forgot how much magic sucked!” The hybrid used an overturned dresser to drag himself back to his feet, putting all of his weight on the splintered furniture as he tried to focus on healing at least his ribs for now; the rest could be dealt with if -- when he survived.

Kaji’s ears perked at the sound of marble crumbling outside the hull of the building he was currently resting in. The wall to his left exploded toward him with tremendous force, the draolf barely having time to bring his arms in front of him and crouch down to shield himself from the heavy chunks of flying debris.  He peered through the new hole as he watched Draco step through the rubble, a smug smile on his face as his blood trickled down his arms. 

“Your claws are sharp, mutt. But, have you stepped up your game yet? I barely notice a difference.”  Kaji’s eyes narrowed; Draco had rarely called him “mutt” before, and when he did it was always in jest.  The tone used this time was completely condescending.  The draolf’s hackles rose up as he went to press himself up off of the ground, only to find himself moving as if he was struggling in molasses. Too late, he realized that Draco had used that time-slowing spell again. His mouth slowly widened out into a snarl before he felt the dragon’s foot against his back, pressing him into the ground. “I think it’s time we clipped those wings of yours,” sneered the dragon. Kaji could feel Draco’s hands wrapping around the bases of his wings, and the draolf began to writhe and thrash under him to try and push him off. As he struggled to free himself, Kaji could feel Draco’s grip tighten around the base of his wings. His eyes wide in horror, Kaji could feel the scales covering the appendages begin to stretch painfully.  “Draco!” he practically begged, his breaths coming in quick bursts, “Please -- don’t!!”  Draco ignored the plea, his merciless laughter echoing in the building’s ruins. Kaji felt his blood run cold, panic setting in as with one brutish tug, the scales protecting his wings began to rip, muscles and tendons snap, and bones violently crack. The draolf’s claws gripped the ground beneath him tightly and he yowled out in mind-numbing pain as the dragon succeeded in ripped his wings completely off, fresh blood gushing from the gaping wounds.

Draco towered triumphantly over the draolf, staring down at the writhing form of his former friend as he went into shock from the pain his body had endured.  “Weakling,” he growled as he tossed the severed appendages into a blazing fire burning near him before he turned back to the hybrid on the floor. Kaji had passed out from the pain at this point, his body beaten and battered, blood pooling around him from each of his deep, open wounds. Disposing of his newest victim, Draco sent another punishing, bone-breaking kick to the draolf’s side that sent him crashing through several more walls to land amidst the burning wreckage of a building. This battle won, the dragon turned and exited through the hole he made in the wall earlier, bellowing a laugh as he returned his malice to the city that he was enjoying wrecking before the mongrel intervened. 

Unbeknownst to both gods, another force began to make its presence known on the plane of immortals.  Kaji’s severed wings suddenly began to gleam with an otherworldly viridian aura which quickly spread to the fire they were smoldering in.  In a flash of emerald light, the torn appendages vanished, the flames turning from bright orange to a bright green before they coalesced in ball of light that floated from the ruins towards the fallen draolf.. 

… Kaji …

Kaji’s brow furrowed ever so slightly as he barely registered the voice, his body laying in a heap at the base of a statue of Aldius.  The orb of light approached the hybrid, then nudged his cheek tenderly.  The light given off by the ball of energy began to soak into Kaji’s chest, bathing him in warmth.

	… Rise, Kaji. 

At first, his feverish brain thought it might have been Draco trying to wake him up from a nightmare.  The voice was soothing and calm.  Protective.  The draolf grunted as consciousness began to slowly return to him.  His eyes flickered open, the pain returning tenfold as he attempted to move his body.  Fearing to try to speak, he let his mind do the talking for him.

I can’t. The pain... It hurts so much. 

	You must. Do you know what will happen once he has finished here?  He plans to turn his sights towards Earth.  All of those people, Kaji...

Kaji recognized the voice now.  His spirit wanted to leap for joy at hearing Her voice, but he couldn’t feel his legs.  He feared that they were both broken.  A glance down along his body revealed that his arm was bent in a way it should not and the side where Draco kicked him was crushed from the force.  He felt blood trickling from many different places all over his body.  He winced audibly as each breath racked him with a fresh heaping of agony.

Gaia... It’s over... I-I did my best, but he’s just t-too strong! 

	Kaji. Are you or are you not a Guardian of Life? You may now be a God, but you were first one of my Knights. Now... Rise up. And take him down!

The light surrounding the hybrid began to seep into his pores, mending his broken bones and sealing his gaping wounds.  Once he stopped bleeding and his breathing began to even out, the draolf rolled completely onto his front where he coughed up a lungful of blood.  He kneeled there for a moment, his clawed hands gripping the ground beneath him as his muscles began to regain their strength.  With a start, he suddenly arched his back, bones popping sickeningly back into place.  Healed except for his severed wings, Kaji’s eyelids gaped open, his eyes burning with green light. The wounds on his back sizzled as Gaia cauterized them, and he slumped his shoulders with a heaving sigh. “I was hoping I would hear from her.”  Feeling rejuvenated enough to stand, he pulled himself to his feet using the base of the statue for leverage.

Silver streaks started to form in the neck ruff of his fur and he winced before he coughed up a bit more blood.  His back fur was matted down with crimson streaks from where his wings were removed.  Testing his legs, he took a shaky step forward. Then another.  And another.  By now, the green glow had completely been absorbed into his body and Kaji began to feel completely recharged.  “The tables have turned,” he whispered to himself.

Thank you, Gaia... I know now what I must do.

Lightning crackled through the air as the draolf vanished from the spot. 

The temple of Aldius was left nearly unscathed by Draco’s initial rampage through the city.  Upon his arrival, the entire Pantheon bore down upon the intruder in an attempt to overpower him.  Those fights drew the dragon away from the place he had been sent to desecrate. However, with no one left to stop him, the dragon had once again made his way up the steps leading to the Elder’s temple.  “Aww... my fun’s almost done,” he chuckled darkly as he lifted a huge, muscled leg and thrust forward, kicking the doors in, the heavy slabs of marble slamming into the walls of the inner sanctum.  He rolled his shoulders as he strolled on into the main antechamber.  

The tapestries hanging from the ceiling shimmered cheerfully in the light streaming in from the open door.   The enormous dragon stared up the flight of stairs before him where he knew Aldius waited for him.  He had one final task to complete before he could begin his takeover of Earth, leaving Kahl to resume his rightful place in Anacia.

Suddenly, obsidian flames pooled on the ground ahead of him and he watched as a figure began to emerge from them.  “Well, now...” he growled, clenching his fists at his sides as he began to recognize the shape of the figure, “you just don’t DIE, you you?”

Standing defiantly in the middle of the flames, the wingless hybrid stared back at the dragon, a low growl emanating from his throat.  Black lightning streaked from his clawed hands and crashed into the ground next to the possessed being, causing small explosions that sent rubble up against him. “Surprised to see me?”, he rumbled, his voice thundering through the antechamber, the acoustics of the room modulating it.  

The dragon opened his mouth to respond, but found he couldn’t as the air was forced from his lungs as Kaji - moving so fast Draco could not counter in time - embedded his fist into his gut, the flames licking at his scales as the scent of burnt flesh wafted up into the air.  Draco doubled over in a mix of pain and surprise, his hands going to his bruised ribs.

“I’m done with the games,” the hybrid stated flatly as he withdrew his fist.  With pinpoint accuracy, he spun around, the back of his fist colliding with the side of Draco’s head, knocking the dragon off of his feet and sending him reeling into the door frame of Aldius’ temple hard enough to crack the marble from the impact.  “You’re not the friend I spent the better of three years with.” 

Draco suddenly growled and muscled his enormous body forward, slamming his shoulder into the hybrid’s stomach and driving him into the opposite side of the door frame. The draolf’s maw split open in a cry of pain before it was cut off by the dragon’s thick, meaty hand wrapping around his throat and hoisting him bodily off the ground.  “Goodbye, Kaji,” he grinned as the hybrid struggled in his grip, trying to force the palm that was cutting off his air supply away from his throat.

Desperately, Kaji raised his hands up into the air.  Drawing upon his elemental powers, he began to channel lightning into the center of his hands.  His eyes gleamed brightly as he stared down at the dragon meaning to destroy him.  With a choking gasp, he whispered out, “I’m sorry,” before slamming his sparking hands down against the base of Draco’s skull, lancing his captor’s body with enormous bolts of electricity that coursed through the dragon’s entire being. Draco’s eyes opened wide in shock as his body and brain were electrocuted, and his muscular frame spasmed as he struggled to fight off the effects of the elemental attack.  Finally, his eyes rolled back in his head and his grip on Kaji’s throat failed.  The dragon collapsed against Kaji, and then the pair of them tumbled to the ground in a heap. 

Kaji grunted as he shoved the motionless body of his friend to one side, freeing himself from the entanglement of limbs.  He stared down at his fallen friend for a moment, his eyes shimmering before he elicited a choked cry, a paw covering his snout as he coughed back his tears.  He took a deep, shuddering breath and held his hands out over Draco’s prone form. A small puff of white flame burst into being between his hands, giving off enough light to fill the entire inner chamber as it swelled in his palms.  The draolf used his legs to gently roll the dragon’s frame over on his stomach and began to press the holy light against his friend’s back. He sighed softly, letting the flames seep into the dragon’s frame, then pulled himself up using the door frame.  “Rest well, Draco,” he said quietly, “I’ve unfinished business to take care of.” 

The draolf stared out over the ruins of Anacia then raised his arms, palms outstretched.  With a thought, he pulled at the flames dotting the entire city and pulled them into himself, using them to further heal his body to prepare for what he knew he would have to do next.  He shuddered as he felt the elemental fires licking at his wounds from the inside, and then yowled in pain as a new set of wings comprised completely of emerald flame burst from the seared wing joints.  He stretched his new elemental extensions, testing them and his ability to control them.

Kaji suddenly jumped as he heard someone clapping slowly behind him.  He turned and peered over one shoulder.  His blood ran cold.

“Well done,” rumbled the demonram, sitting on the marble steps leading up to Aldius’ chamber, “you make me wonder if I should have lured you and not him.”

A low growl echoed from the draolf’s throat as his eyes narrowed at the sight of the demonram. “Kahl, I presume?”  Kaji’s lips curled up in a very small smile.  “Heh.  Not what I expected.”  He let that smile turn into a grin as he turned to face the fallen Elder, stepping carefully over Draco’s motionless form. 

“Oh?  And just what were you expecting?” retorted Kahl.  “A being that’s more graceful? One that’s more regal? Someone that’s more like Aldius?”  The ram let out a chilling laugh, his legs shifting as he moved to stand up. “Okay, so that wasn’t very funny,” he grinned when Kaji did not laugh with him.  “But do you know what is?”  Kahl rose to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest, waving a hand dismissively towards the unconscious dragon. “What Draco was really thinking when he decided to befriend a mongrel like you.”  His hooves clopped against the marble as he walked down the stairs towards Kaji. “See... If I had known you had such power within you, well... I would’ve gone for you hands down!”  The beast’s grin remained as he let out a soft chuckle and looked beyond Kaji at the prone dragon.  “Ah well.  At least he served his purpose.  Thanks to him, Anacia will be mine once again!” 

Kaji’s arms once again erupted in ebony flame.  He leveled a glare at the ram and growled deeply.  “Kahl...”  Kaji’s snout split open into a wide grin of his own.  “Shut. The fuck. Up.” The draolf’s eyes gleamed as he allowed the flames to begin to spread along his arms, licking up at his shoulders.

Kahl shook his head as he came within a dozen feet of the dracolupine.  “Come now, Kaji. You’ve seen what I can offer.  You’ve seen the power, the strength that I bestowed upon Draco. I could give the same to you. You could have that strength! Powerful enough to rule Earth with an iron fist!” He took another step towards the hybrid, bringing the distance between them within a few feet. “I could make you more than just a God.” 

Kaji’s fiery wings flared and lightning danced in arcs down his arms. “Your offer is enticing, Kahl,” he stated flatly, “but I’m not for sale.”  In a flash of light, the hybrid teleported behind the ram and reached up, grabbing the monstrous beast’s curved horns in both of his hands, momentarily throwing the demon off balance.  Using nearly every ounce of strength he could muster at that moment, the draolf managed to hurl the demon off his feet and bodily threw him over his shoulder with a yell.  Kahl’s hulking form was sent sailing through the air and crashed into a marble pillar. 

However, this didn’t seem to phase the ram, as he immediately pulled himself back up with a deep, bemused chuckle, brushing dust off his back and arms. “Cute,” he rumbled, before he snapped the fingers of his right hand.  Marble stone exploded outwards from underneath Kaji as a plume of ephemeral blue flame burst forth and engulfed the draolf where he stood.  The draolf howled in pain as the magical fire seared his flesh and burned his fur, the only fire he was distinctly vulnerable to.  The demonram gave a hearty chuckle as he raised that right hand up, the temperature of the cobalt column soaring up well beyond the limits of normal flame, making the hybrid’s howl elevate into a torturous scream. “You could’ve been great, Kaji!” annouced Kahl over the dracolupine’s cries of pain.  “You could’ve been my right hand General! My successor!” 

The circumference of the pyre of flames suddenly spread outwards, no longer directly burning the draolf.  Licks of the cobalt fire fizzled out as the draolf focused his powers to fight off the imminent immolation. “I would rather be dead!” he growled, summoning up enough energy to vanish from amidst the otherworldly heat as the column collapsed back in upon itself. 

Kahl abruptly spun around as he dismissed the pillar of flame, searching for the disappearing chimera.  “Well that can also certainly be arranged!” he announced.  “Show yourself, you pathetic mongrel! And I’ll make sure this ends quickly.”

“You used my friend,” echoed Kaji’s voice in the enormous antechamber.  “You turned him against me.  You used him to destroy this great city and threaten Earth, my home.  You even tried to bribe me with the same empty promises.”  The draolf’s deep laughter emanated from all sides, disorienting the ram as he searched the enormous temple antechamber for any sign of the draolf.  “You’re the one that’s pathetic, Kahl!”  

Kahl’s face slowly contorted and twisted into a vicious snarl.  “You’re nothing more than a pawn to Aldius!” he bellowed.  “Just someone that he uses to further his own agenda!  Now show yourself!!”  

Kaji chuffed before erupting into a condescending laugh.  “What’s wrong, Kahl?” he mocked, “afraid of a little ol’ mutt?”  He suddenly reappeared directly behind the demonram and grinned as he squared his shoulders, his fingertips wreathed in lightning.  Before the ram could spin around to face him, his claws dug into the ram’s backside, his electrified digits grabbing the base of Kahl’s spinal cord, causing the demon’s frame to seize completely as every muscle convulsed and locked up.
 
Kahl bellowed in agonizing pain as every nerve ending in his body became overloaded with elemental lightning, his brain too fogged by white-hot lances of turmoil to attempt to focus on negating the draolf’s improvised attack

Kaji finally released his grip, the demon’s frame collapsing to all fours before him, groaning in pain.  Suddenly, the draolf lashed a hand out; snatching the hoop through Kahl’s nose. The draolf kneeled down while tugging the hoop, forcing the ram’s head up to look at him face to face. “Normally, I’d just banish a troublesome demon to some desolate place and be done with it,” he growled, his eyes wreathed with viridian light as the hand clutching the piercing became engulfed in obsidian flame. “But because it’s you, it’s a whole different ball game.” He tightened his grip on the metal hoop, superheating it as the metal became white-hot and began searing the flesh causing Kahl’s eyes to water. With a fierce yank, he ripped it straight out of the ram’s nostrils, Kahl crying out as fresh blood oozed down his lip.  Kaji molded the molten ring around three of his fingers while it was still pliable, and then punched the ram square in the jaw with it, sending the ram sprawling to the ground on his back. “You made me beat the living shit out of my best friend!  And now it’s your turn!!”

His body paralyzed from the neck down from the intense electrocution he suffered earlier, Kahl grunted as he felt Kaji’s arms wrap around his waist and heave him into a sitting position.  The demon attempted to bash his head into Kaji’s, but the hybrid was able to dodge the attack with ease.  “A valiant, last-ditch effort.  But it won’t save you,” snarled the hybrid as he suddenly wrapped both his hands around the demon’s thick neck, his entire body erupting again in the black fire he controlled.  He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip as the inferno surrounding his body started to burn brighter and hotter.  He tugged his emerald wings around the two of them, forming a thick, emerald dome around them.  Kaji chortled sinisterly as he leaned in close to the fallen Elder and grinned. “Let’s go out with a bang.  Whaddya say?” 

The flames swirling around him started to condense, the color growing whiter and whiter as it got hotter and hotter. Kahl could only moan in pain as Kaji sunk his claws into the demon’s neck. His eyes went from a glowing viridian to a nearly blinding white as his entire body seemed to go supernova, exploding into a sheer symphony of flames.  Yet, those glowing eyes continued to bare down into Kahl’s own as the demon’s wails of pain became louder and more agonizing. The draolf leaned his enflamed head down and whispered one final word into the demonram’s ear.

“......Boom.” 

Suddenly, half of the antechamber imploded inwards as an enormous rush of energy was sucked into the draolf’s body like a vacuum before it violently exploded outwards in a titanic ball of fire. Blinding light illuminated the sky, bright enough to the point that the scientists on Earth considered it a dying star reaching critical mass. The intense heat from the explosion rolled over the ruins of the city in a massive shockwave that leveled the remains of the fallen city.  Several seconds later, pieces of the temple began to fall from the sky.

Most of the antechamber was replaced with a crater that was as wide as a football field and more than 30 feet deep. Kaji lay motionless, face down in the center of the crater, having passed out from the strain of utilising that level of power. The emerald wings had disappeared into nothing, though his fur still licked the air like flames.

A slab of the main door to the temple suddenly began to move.  A groan emanated from the creature trapped underneath the heavy marble chunk as it was muscled off to one side.  Draco very cautiously pulled himself to up to his hands and knees, a splitting migraine causing his vision to blur as he attempted to focus.  Finally able to open his eyes without wanting to retch, he glanced up from the tile floor he was sitting on and looked out over the decimated landscape.  His face suddenly lost two shades of color and he whimpered.  “Fuck me... Zalios is going to be PISSED!”

Draco shakily stood to his feet, then peered behind him into the enormous crater.  His eyes widened in shock as he saw the motionless form of the dracolupine laying in the middle of the depression in the ground.  “Holy shit!  Kaji!!”  He leaped off the edge of the crater, practically skidding down the slope until he reached the prone form of the draolf.  “What the hell?”  He grasped the hybrid’s shoulder and rolled him over, Kaji’s body limply responding as Draco got him to his back.  “Kaji, wake up!” urged the dragon, shaking his friend.  “C’mon -- you’re not dead.  You can’t die.  Wake the fuck up!!”  He leaned down to Kaji’s snout and listened intently.  Kaji wasn’t breathing.  Draco gasped in horror.  “No,” he whispered, shaking his head.  He refused to believe it.  “No,” he repeated, this time in a growl.  “Don’t you fucking dare!  You’ve never given up on anything, and I’ll be damned if you’re going to let it end like this!!”  Desperately, the dragon pried open the draolf’s snout and locked his own over it, breathing into Kaji’s lungs.  “Breathe, fucker!!” he snarled, clasping his fingers over his friend’s chest, performing CPR to try to resuscitate his heart.  “Breathe!!”  He dipped his snout back over the hybrid’s, pressing a deeper breath into his friend’s lungs, then once more went back to the CPR maneuver.  “I’m!  Not!  Letting!  You!  Die!” he screamed, each word emphasized with pumps to the dracolupine’s chest.  Tears stung at the dragon’s eyes as he checked for a pulse.  Nothing.  Choking back sobs, the dragon steeled himself and bent down over Kaji’s snout.  “C’mon,” he whimpered, taking quick little breaths before he once more blew a big breath into his friend’s snout.  When Kaji remained unresponsive, his body lifeless and still, Draco collapsed back onto his rump, buried his face in his hands, and bawled.

The tears flowing freely, sobs racking his body, Draco moaned and wailed at the loss of his friend.  “This is all my fault,” he choked, pulling his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth, his eyes never leaving the body of his fallen comrade.

“Peace, Child.”

The dragon nearly leapt out of his scales as a hand landed lightly on his shoulder.  He craned his neck up to peer into the radiant, beaming face of Aldius.  The lion wore a white robe with the hood pulled back, intricate gold patterns sewn into it.

“Aldius!” he cried, leaning into the lion’s shoulder.  “He’s gone, Aldius, and it’s all my fault.”

“He did well,” stated the lion, looking over to the fallen draolf.  “Better than even I expected.  Had you been in your right mind, you would have been proud of him.”

Draco’s head hung low as the weight of what had transpired began setting in.  Kahl had ensured that the memories of what he had been responsible for remained burned in his mind.  The sobs returned full-force, the shame of what he had done pouring out of him along with his tears.  “Aldius, forgive me... I...”

“Shush,” rumbled the Elder.  “It is alright, my Child.  Anacia, and all of its denizens, will be rebuilt.”  The lion hugged the dragon against him and whispered into his ear.  “All of them.”

A light from the middle of the crater caught the dragon’s attention.  Kaji’s body was moving, lifting straight up into the air, surrounded by a glimmering white glow.  Draco grunted as the light became too bright for him to bear and he had to shield his eyes from the intensity of it.  When his vision finally cleared, Kaji’s body was gone.  Along with the crater.  Draco leaped to his feet and spun around, staring slack-jawed as the decimated ruins of Anacia were returned to their original splendor.

“There,” grinned the lion as he stepped up beside Draco, one arm draped heavily over the dragon’s shoulders.  “See?  All better.”

“Aldius, you never cease to amaze me,” remarked the dragon, his eyes blinking away tears.  “But what of Kaji?”

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” replied the Elder, opening a portal to his right with the wave of his hand.  Through the portal, Draco saw the draolf, fast asleep under the covers in his bedroom, completely healed.  The wings that Draco had ripped off were whole once more.  The dragon stared at the hybrid for a long moment before Aldius nudged him toward the portal.  “Go to him,” he said, smiling.  “And hurry; I hear Zalios heading this direction.”

“Oh, yeah … I’d better go,” grinned Draco, heading towards the swirling vortex of energy.  Before he stepped through, he paused, and then ran back to the lion, wrapping his arms tightly around the feline’s waist.  “Thank you, Father,” he sniffed, burying his snout into the thick, powerful chest of the Avatar.

“You have done well, Draco.  I am, have been, and will always be proud of you.”  The lion pulled back from the strong hug and caressed the dragon’s cheek, wiping away tears.  “Now, go; live.  Just... don’t forget to call now and again.  I like it when we talk.”

Draco chuckled at that and nodded his head softly.  “I promise, my Lord.”  With that, his surroundings changed to the draolf’s bedroom, the dragon strolling to the foot of the bed his friend slept soundly on and sat himself down at the edge.  The portal winked closed after him, Aldius’ smiling face disappearing along with it.

The new weight on his mattress made the dracolupine stir and he turned over, opening his eyes to see the dragon sitting at the foot of the bed.  For what seemed like an eternity, the pair stared at one another, neither one saying a word.  Finally, Kaji cracked a grin.  “Bastard,” he said.

Draco blushed deeply and his eyes fell to the bedsheets between them.  He bit his bottom lip, his eyes stinging with fresh tears.  “Kaji, I...”  He sniffled, his chest heaving.  “Please forgi-”

A pillow was suddenly flung at Draco’s face, and the dragon-wolf bared his fangs.  “Forgive you?” interrupted the chimera.  “Are you shitting me?”  Draco visibly winced at the tone in Kaji’s voice, refusing to look up.  Suddenly, he found himself on the floor of Kaji’s bedroom, the hybrid’s arms wrapped so tightly around him Draco thought he felt a rib crack.  “Of course I forgive you, you big dolt!  Besides...” he grinned darkly, a grin that even made Draco shudder, “I made Kahl pay for what he did to us.”

The dragon recovered quickly and grinned broadly, licking Kaji’s cheek and patting him on the head.  “I saw the result.  You did tremendously, Kaji.  I’m so proud of you.”

The dragon-wolf nodded and blushed a tad.  “I did what I had to.  You were in trouble.  The world was in trouble.  I couldn’t let Kahl live; not after what he did.”  With a wave of his hand, the hybrid motioned to the empty space beside them on the floor, where the beads of the disassembled necklace appeared.

Draco’s eyes widened a bit in surprise.  “Where did you find that?  I thought I’d lost it forever!”

“Kahl had used it to power up a couple of his generals.  They were tough, but they were still no match for me,” beamed the draolf.

The dragon chuckled and playfully poked Kaji in the side.  “Damn right, they weren’t.  Gods... two growing demon generals, eh?  And you bested them both?”

“The necklace helped,” explained Kaji.  “It doesn’t like being in pieces like this.”  He paused in thought and gathered the beads up into his hands.  As he concentrated, a gentle glow emanated from his pawpads, surrounding the beads in its glow.  The individual orbs began to float in a concentric circle in the air above the hybrid’s outstretched hands, slowly sorting themselves in order from smallest to largest, as they had been in the original necklace configuration.  As an afterthought, Kaji sent a little tendril of his own new powers into the beads, each of them sparkling with a small jolt of green electricity that faded immediately afterwards.  That completed, he reached up and grabbed the smallest of the beads, the rest falling limp against his arm as they settled into place, the necklace completely reformed.  “I believe this belongs to you,” he grinned, handing the adornment back over to the dragon, its rightful owner.

Draco took it in his hands, staring down at the beads as a swirl of energy danced in each one before disappearing entirely.  The dragon furrowed his eyeridges, looking back to the hybrid.  “What’d you do to them?”

“Ha,” grinned the draolf.  “I just made sure that if anyone else tried to force that thing off you that I would know about it.  So that I could swoop in and kick their ass.”

“Dragon-wolf Security?” queried the dragongod, matching Kaji’s grin.  “I already feel safer.”

Kaji punched Draco in the arm, hard enough to make the dragon wince and rub the tender spot.  “Damn right you do!” he exclaimed.  “I’m the only one that gets to fuck with your mind, got it?!”

Draco snickered and nodded.  “Duly noted.  Now... about that movie...”

...The End? :D