339 We Are You

There was the sound of weapons being fired and shot all around her. Smoke and dust clouded her vision. She was clutching her necklace, clutching her heart. Emotions of dread, fear, panic, overwhelmed her. She was at the verge of breaking down. 

Vyrena was in the middle of chaos, screaming at the top of her lungs for someone. She was calling out someone's name. But she could not hear any of it. It was like watching a silent colours film of yourself screaming into the void. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. 

Was this the last thing she was about to see before the world turned dark? 

\u003cYou need us now. More than ever.\u003e the voice whispered to her.

Vy looked all around, she was still in the city, but now she has full control of her body. She stood up, trying to find the source of the voice. From the dust clouds that swirled before her, Vy could see the shadowy figures of multiple creatures. 

The silhouette of a wolf.

The shadow of a raven. 

The looming shape of a nine-tailed beast.

When she squinted her eyes, Vy thought for a moment, she saw the shadow of a large bird behind all of them. But she could not be certain. Through the dust clouds, she noticed that the eyes of each of the creatures began to flow bright red. 

The more she looked, the more warped everything became. The present and the dreamscape were flickering together. Fusing into one. Vy felt a searing pain in her head, causing her agony. 

The drakes were closing in on her, but everything was on slow motion. In an instant, her mind was clear and there was no more pain. Vy looked beyond the drakes that were coming towards her. 

She could see the shadowy figures of two nine tailed beasts. One was covered in glowing white light. The other, was merely a ghostly shape. With the blink of an eye, both beasts appeared right before her. They were merely inches apart. 

\u003cYou need us.\u003e the voice echoed in Vy's mind. 

It was no longer a whisper.

The eyes of both creatures were glowing bright red. The creatures fused together, forming one large nine-tailed beast with tails of white and black. It towered above Vyrena, casting her in its shadow. 

\u003cWe are you.\u003e 

The creature opened its jaw and ate Vy with one bite. 

In the present, a pulse of bright light emanated from Vy's body, blinding everything in the vicinity. The drakes took multiple steps back, shying away from her. A pulse of energy burst forth, pushing them back. 

She watched as her body turned to ashes and blew away in the wind. When Vyrena opened her eyes once more, she no longer had a human body. She had taken the form of the nine-tailed beast. Her fur coat was as white as snow, but the tip of her tails were black. Her paws were black too. 

When the light dissipated, Vy was surprised by the form she had taken. The energy flowing through her body, the power she could feel in her veins. Everything felt so familiar yet so foreign. 

Looking up at the drakes who were circling around her, bloodlust surged through her veins. She wanted nothing more than to tear them open with her claws. In a split second, black flames covered each of her paws. 

Yet the flames brought her no pain, but she could feel it's power. When she looked at the drakes again, barring her sharpened teeth, the drakes seemingly backed away. They were no longer putting up an offensive stance. 

They looked as if they were afraid of her. 

Vy took one step forward and pointed her head towards the sky, letting out a howl that sent shockwaves all around.

On the other side of the wall, the survivors were coming to terms with what had happened. Boss accounted for all the children, making sure they did not lose anyone. Unfortunately, they did not walk away entirely unscathed. 

But as soon as he saw Tizzie, still unconscious, had made it safely through, he heaved a sigh of relief. Jos and Maribelle helped him check on the rest, only coming to report to him once everything was settled. 

"Have you seen Vyrena?" Maribelle asked anxiously while looking all around.

Boss looked around as he informed them, "She went back to help those who were stuck on the other end."

As he turned to look at the tunnel they had come out from, he noticed new faces running through, including some of the hybrids. Without much thought, he ran towards the tunnel eagerly waiting to see if he could spot Vyrena. 

He had looked around at all those who had already passed through but Vyrena was not among them. As the last few humans came running through, Boss grew more and more anxious. 

The wall had already begun to self-repair. Through the tunnel, he could see the wall closing up. His heart sank. Boss tried asking some of those who had passed through it they had seen Vyrena. 

But none of them seems to even know who she was. Maribelle came up behind Boss. 

"I don't see her," Boss said anxiously. 

Maribelle looked at those passing through. She noticed El amongst them, her face distraught. She ran up to El immediately.

"El! Where is Vyrena? Was she with you?" Maribelle asked. 

El was catching her breath, having collapsed onto the ground after sprinting through the tunnel. 

"She… she…" she could barely form her words together as she turned around to face the wall. 

Her eyes widened in distraught as the war miraculously repaired itself. El ran up to the wall, moments before it was fully repaired. 

"NO! NO!" She cried in agony as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

El crumbled to the ground, banging her fists against the wall. Maribelle covered her shaking hand over her mouth as she turned to meet Boss's eyes. 

\u003cSpecial Holiday Bonus Part 6\u003e

"Open mine first!" Lycster exclaimed as he leapt off the sofa and moved towards the tree. 

He handed the present to Vy with both hands, "Happy Log Day, sis!"

"Thank you," she said as she gave him a hug. 

The box was medium-sized, wrapped in a patterned red and green cloth. Vy carefully untied the knot on the cloth and lifted the lid of the box. 

"I noticed the one you were wearing seemed to be getting a little rough on the edges so I thought you might like a new one!"

It was a black leather jacket!

The leather jacket was not only well made, but it had many pockets for her to put her things in. Vy tried it on immediately. It fitted like a glove. 

"Do you like it?" Lycster asked nervously. 

Vy looked up at him. She gave him a warm hug, "I love it, thank you!"

Now it was her turn, she went over to the tree and picked up two boxes and handed them over to Lycster. She first handed him the smaller box. 

"I could not really decide on one, so I got you two things," she explained. 

Lycster unwrapped the box with excitement and opened the lid to reveal a tree ornament. It was in the shape of an owl, covered in feathers with a pair of large glass bead eyes. 

"I thought we could start a Yule tradition together, where we get an ornament for one another each year. That way, we can add to the decor of the tree." Vy continued. 

The boy was enamoured by the beauty and craftsmanship of the ornament, it was extremely lifelike. But he was speechless of a considerable amount of time, worrying Vy. 

"You… don't like it?" 

"Oh no! It's not that. The thing is…" Lycster put down the ornament and went back to the tree. He came back to the sofa with a small wrapped box. 

He handed his sister the box and urged her to open it. Vy unboxed it immediately, revealing a bauble ornament with a hand-painted wolf on it. 

"I got you an ornament too! What a coincidence!"

The siblings thought alike, that was for certain. 

Moving onto the final gift, Vy was not sure if Lycster would like it, but she hoped that he did. The box was huge, and it took Lycster some time to unwrap it. When he finally got it open, it was revealed to be a one-handed crossbow. 

Vy had been looking through the stalls when she came upon the crossbow in a weapon stall. It was not only lightweight but a good size for a weapon for a boy of his size. It also shot out magic arrows, so he did not need to reload them. 

"When the weather gets better, I can teach you how to use it," she said. 

Lycster looked up at his sister with a smile upon his face, "I love it, and that would be great." 

With their presents exchanged, the Blackfire siblings went back to their hot cocoa as they huddled close together on the sofa. As they listened to the soft music that played in the background, they sipped their hot beverage, ate a few slices of butter cookies and embraced one another's company. 

"Will we be able to do this again next year, sis?"

"Of course we will. It's our tradition now," she replied. 

"You promise?"

"I promise."

\u003cMerry Christmas Everyone!\u003e