--Running Against the Wind by Doesn't-Take-Sides--

OOC: I hate to tell you, but this has turned out to be a Whitewolf fic.
But, since I don't know or go to any Whitewolf sites, it gets stuck here,
since it is, after all, about the Lylat Alliance. I've tried to tone down
all the WW stuff for those who don't know much about it...
The funny thing is, it really started out as "how Take joined the LA", but
now it's anything but that. Oh, and you may be sorry to find out that I've
used a lot of RL topics in this story, especially about my own life, so
you may find out more than you would really like. But I think you'll enjoy
it anyway...

---

I always hated the opening howl: I always made sure that I did it justice,
which meant I would howl my lungs out and then sit panting for fifteen
minutes into the moot. Even if I went into Lupus- full wolf form- to do
it, the result was the always the same. And whenever we got around to the
Cracking of the Bone, I always had forgotten everything I had wanted to
say.

So it went with this moot, as it had with every other one my pack held. I
howled to the moon, then forgot everything I wanted to say because I was
too busy catching my breath. Nothing unusual for me.

The moot ended at nine o'clock, and I decided not to stick around for the
nearby game at the college afterwards. I wanted to go home and go online,
so I bid my packmates all good evening, went into Hispo- dire wolf form-
and ran home. As late as it was, I didn't really have to worry about being
seen by too many humans.

Nevertheless, I kept to the shadows under the trees, in backyards and
backstreets. I made it home in eight minutes, less than half my walking
time in Homid, because I hadn't pushed myself. I knew I could do about
half that if needed, because Hispo was fast.

When I reached home, I rolled in the grass and acted like a dog. If any of
my pack had seen me, I would have felt like a total idiot. But there
wasn't anyone else around, so I didn't care. Hispo is my favorite form,
and whenever I'm in any lupine form I get a little giddy from the
sensation of being a wolf. So if I wanted to act like a fool, well by
Luna's light I would!

Finished with being silly, I made the effortless transition back to my
Homid breed form and fished my keys out of my pocket. Unlocking the door,
I was greeted by my puppy-sized Sheltie/Husky dog, Gracie, who jumped on
me and licked me as much as possible. My Kinfolk mother was on the
computer at the other end of the house, reading her smutty X-Files
stories.

My mom loved to read the X-Files fanfics that she found at various sites
online, and most of them were really pornographic. Those writers seriously
needed to get lives. But then, whenever I wasn't on the computer, my mom
was reading them, so a lot could be said for many people.

"You're home early," she noted, not turning around.

"I decided not stay for anything. Can I go online?"

"In a while. Just let me finish this story."

Oh yeah. Like finishing that story didn't mean she wasn't going to go and
read the next one. I sighed and stomped upstairs to perform my usual
predormitory ritual- brush, wash face, change, stomp back downstairs in a
tired daze.

Amazingly, I got back downstairs just as my mom was finishing her story.
She was howling with laughter at whatever it was she had been reading. As
I came downstairs, she started describing the story she had been reading,
through gasping for breath and wiping away tears.

"Oh, Danny, you gotta read this one! Mulder shows up at Scully's apartment
soaking wet... and she makes him take a shower, only she doesn't have any
clothes for him so she makes him wrap up in a towel... and he's being
juvenile about it the whole time!"

"Okay, Mom," I told her placatingly, "I'll get to it."

"Yes, and how many stories will you 'get to'?" she asked, having calmed
down. "Hm?"

"Not enough."

"Everything's locked up. I'm going to bed."

"'Kay. Night, Mom."

I went into the kitchen and grabbed my Killer Instinct Soundtrack CD off
the shelf. I set it in the Q Drive, plugged the headphones in, turned the
volume all the way up, loaded up Internet Explorer and Yahoo! Pager, and
got set for a truly Weaver-induced experience. Headphones on, video game
techno music blaring in my ears, online: what more could a Glass Walker
ask for? (Maybe a GF...)

I heard the wacky bang sound that alerted me to a message in my Inbox. I
had been heading to the Scribes' board, but I clicked on the 'check
e-mail' button anyway.

I had one message. It was from Ace. It read:

"Take-
We're getting the LA together in person. It's gonna be Sunday, in
Columbus, Ohio. Tell me if you can come.
~Ace"

Well, I was at a loss for words. I couldn't remember the number of times I
had tried to bump into one of my online friends while on a college visit
in their state and failed. And now, a group of my friends were actually
meeting IRL for the specific reason of meeting IRL! I couldn't pass up the
opportunity, so without thinking, I clicked reply and said, "Yes, just
tell me where."

Then it hit me: how the hell was I going to get to Columbus in two days?
And then get back in time for school? And how was I going to convince my
parents to let me go, especially when my dad thought all my friends were a
forty-year-old fat guy in Queens?

A plan began forming itself in my head. I e-mailed Seldom-Sleeps, my
Alpha, and explained the situation to him, along with my suggestion. I
just hoped he'd read it before tomorrow. After that, I decided to e-mail
FJ, just in case, and left it at that. The remainder of the night, I
travelled to my usual online haunts, and then got to bed before
ten-thirty.

---

"Mom, a bunch of my online friends are getting together tomorrow
somewhere. Do you think I could go meet them? They invited me along."

"Where at?"

"Somewhere in Columbus."

"Really? And how do you expect to get there?"

"Well, I e-mailed one of my friends to see if he could pick me up and
drive me there. I mean, he's twenty-one and he lives in Illinois: it's not
that far and I'd be okay."

"Do you know if he can?"

"I need to check my e-mail still. Hang on a minute."

I went over and booted up the computer. It took an eternity and a half to
finish loading everything, but I was soon online and checking my e-mail. I
had four messages.

The first was from discserver, telling me that I had a reply to a message
at the SFO board. That was a waste of e-mail. The second was from Ace,
detailing exactly where and when it was going to be. I saved that one,
because I knew my mom would want to see it. The third was from FJ, and my
heart sank a little when he said he couldn't pick me up.

The fourth, however, lifted my spirits when I saw it. It was a reply from
Seldom, but what it said wasn't quite so uplifting.

"Dan, a moon bridge is out of the question. We've got three Totems'
Thrones and no caern. There's just no possible way to open one without a
caern. Sorry."

I banged my head on the keyboard. How could I have been so stupid as to
forget that?

The computer spewed out a line of gibberish, then grunted at me.

"Who asked you?" I snapped.

Sighing, I deleted the message and replied to Ace's.

"Ace, I won't be able to make it. I have no way of getting down there.
Sorry. Maybe next time. I was really looking forward to meeting all of
you.
-Doesn't-Take-Sides"

I sent it and logged off.

"Maybe next time..."

---

Sunday morning was Sunday morning. I slept in as long as I could, but
somehow still got up before nine.

The dog came out of my room with me, and then huffed her way down the
stairs. When she got to the bottom, she started barking her head off.

"Gracie, shutup, it's nothing!"

I ignored her and moved into the kitchen to find some food. Not anything
in particular, just something edible, preferably with a great deal of
sugar in it. Frosted Mini-Wheats: yes, that sounds good.

I got a bowlful, and walked back into the dining room, where my dog had
decided to ignore me and continue barking at nothing. Only then did I see
a car in the driveway.

Feeling like an idiot, I set my Mini-Wheats down and went to look at the
door. There was a guy there, about my age, whom I didn't recognize. I
shoved the dog off the bench and undid the locks to open the door into the
airlock. The other guy opened the outer door. I suddenly became aware of
my threadbare purple sleeping shirt with its multitude of holes, and did
my best not to seem like I had just gotten up ten minutes ago and wasn't
interested in buying anything.

"Can I help you?" I asked, mustering a great deal of tact for that early
in the morning.

"Doesn't-Take-Sides?"

"Yeah..." I had no idea what I just admitted. There was supposed to be
this little thing called the Veil...

The guy held out a hand. "Mike Major, otherwise known as Ace McLeod."

I shook his hand in disbelief, my eyes alight with joy. "Ace! What're you
doin' here? C'mon in!" I let him in, and was surprised by dog's instant
acceptance of him as a friend.

"Wow!" I said, impressed. "She's not usually that friendly!"

"I've got a way with dogs, I guess," Ace replied enigmatically.

"I know the feeling..." I replied with what I hoped was just as much
mystery. "Uh, make yourself comfortable, I'll go get dressed. Sorry
there's not much else for you to do."

"That's okay."

I ran up the stairs on all fours, and then into my room, waking my brother
up. He ignored me and rolled over in his bed, trying to forget the fact
that he was up.

I threw on whatever the hell I could find in my drawers. I must have made
a lot of noise, because my mom woke up, too. I had to go in her room to
get some pants out of the clean clothes baskets, and saw her sitting up in
bed.

"What're you rushing around for?"

"Mom, you'll never believe it, on of my online friends just showed up
IRL!"

"IRL?"

"In Real Life," I explained impatiently, trying not to trip over my pants
and fall downstairs. When I finally had everything on, I made my way down
the stairs, and saw Ace still sitting on the bench in front of my door,
petting my dog. I realized I had forgotten my belt, so I rushed back
upstairs and nearly collided with my mom as she shuffled out of her room.
I grabbed the belt and raced back downstairs, fitting it into the loops on
my jeans.

"That's better," I said, and headed for my bowl, which sat on the dresser
next to the bench. I donned my D'nel the ex-Mage necklace and ring, and
put my Fuzz Ward- a small packet of paper and Scotch tape- into my pocket,
as usual. Then I remembered I hadn't yet eaten, so I grabbed the bowl and
started in.

"So, Ace, why are you here?"

"Well, didn't you get my e-mail?"

"E-mail? What e-mail?"

So saying, I went over and booted up the computer while Ace watched. He
noticed my ring.

"Hey, isn't that how you described D'nel's ring?"

"Sure is. His ring, and his necklace, too." I held up the necklace for him
to see. "Although the ring is actually closer to D'nel's than the necklace
is."

By that time, the computer had loaded everything, so I pulled up Internet
Explorer and my Yahoo! Pager. Sure enough, that funky sound that alerted
me to e-mail rang, and said I had one new messages, so I clicked on the
button that said "Go to Yahoo! Mail". Upon checking my Inbox, I found one
e-mail, from Ace:

"Okay then. Don't worry, I'll come get you myself. Tomorrow morning, then.
~Ace"

I turned to Ace with a look of complete absurdity.

"I got your reply right after you sent it," he said. "I e-mailed you back,
thinking you'd get it."

"I went offline right after I sent that reply," I said, laughing, "so no
wonder I didn't get it!"

A thought occured to me. "Say, you have time for a game of Star Fox?"

Ace grinned ear to ear in reply. "Oh, yeah!"

I put down my bowl and shoved our monstrous green pool table out of the
way, so that he would have some place to sit, and pulled up two chairs. I
handed him my brother's controller- the yellow one- to set up while I
pulled out Star Fox 64, plugged it in, and then plugged in my N64.

"Point Match?"

"Sure. You have Landmasters?"

"Of course. I call Falco."

"I'll take Fox."

At first, it was a pretty fair match. I grabbed the Double Lasers with my
Landmaster, and began to pummel Ace's Arwing. I shot him down twice before
taking so much damage that I succumbed myself and turned the Lasers over
to him. I switched back and forth between the two vehicles for the next
five rounds, but to no avail: he shot me down five times in a row.

"Damn! You're good!"

"You're not so bad yourself."

By that time, my mom had come downstairs, so I introduced her to Ace and
told her that, once again, one of my friends had come to kidnap me.

"But didn't you say that thing was in Columbus?" she asked.

My heart sank. "Yeah... Well, Mom, I've gotta go then, I guess. Ace took
all this time to come up here and get me, so we can't send him back
without me, can we? And I'm sure Ace is a good driver, right, so there's
nothing to worry about, right?"

"Of course," he said with what I hoped wasn't feigned confidence. "And
I'll have him back by tonight."

Mom gave me one of those disgusted little oh-if-you-must sighs that meant
she really didn't think she had much of a choice in this.

"Oh, go ahead. Have fun."

I cheered and high-fived Ace.

"The last time he was in a car with one of his friends," my mom continued,
"they were in an accident, and he was the only one who got hurt, too. It
seems that whenever he and his friend Kenny get together, he always ends
up getting hurt."

"Mo-om!" I whined.

"If I can't make fun of you in front of your friends, then what's the
point of being a mother?"

"I think it's time to go now," I said hastily, pushing Ace towards the
door. He was just grinning. I grabbed my keys and my ever-present Yoshi
Hat on the way out.

"Have fun," Mom said sleepily, locking the front door behind us.

We made our way to Ace's nondescript car, and climbed in, myself with much
discomfort and a little nervousness. Ace must have noticed because he
said, "Hey, I didn't know you were that tall. You all right?"

"I'm okay..." I started to say, then changed my mind. "You know that
accident my mom told you about? Well, ever since then, I've kind of had
this fear of low-lying cars."

Ace laughed, then became suddenly serious as he backed out of my
steep-gradient driveway. "You're serious, then? I've never heard of that."

"Well, don't mind me if I white-knuckle my way to Columbus."

We didn't speak much until we hit the freeway.

"Hey, Take, I was thinking, since I've actually heard your voice and all
now, whatever happened to those impressions of yours?"

Smiling, I cleared my throat and began speaking to him in a number of Star
Fox-inspired voices.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!

"You tryin' to damage my pretty face?

"I'll not be defeated by this WORM!

"I'll teach ye some respect!

"Don't ever give up, my son.

"I think I'll torture you for a while!

"You're good... But I'm better!

"Uncle Andross!"

"Those were great!" Ace laughed.

"You wanna hear me sing? I'm in the mood."

"What, like how you're always singing online?"

I nodded. "I never sing anything online that I don't actually know IRL."

I did "Shivna" and "Home and the Heartland" from Riverdance. Ace stayed
silent until I had finished.

"Not bad... That first was that Gaelic song you're always saying you
know?" I nodded. "I think you might be a little off key."

I mock-growled at him. "Everyone's a critic! Fine, enough of the mushy,
feely Celtic crap!"

I went into my rendition of Wierd Al Yankovic's "Bad Hair Day", until Ace
stopped me (just as I was getting hoarse) and said, "We're here."

We got out of the car, and I stared up at what appeared to be a cross
between the KSU Student Center and the Transamerican Pyramid.

"This is one hell of a place," I said admiringly.

"Yeah, well, there's only one other group meeting here today, so it's all
but ours."

"Really? Who?"

"Just some corporation lunch. I didn't really ask. Steve's the one who
actually reserved it for us."

"Steve?"

"You know... F. J. We're on the first floor."

He led me through a revolving door into the stark-walled, dimly-lit
interior of the modern architecturized building. As soon as we crossed the
threshold, I felt an amazing energy running through the walls, the floor,
even the lights above me. I didn't recognize it at all, but the whole
building practically screamed Weaver-tech! Yet there was something odd in
it, too... Something not quite right. But I was so happily absorbed by the
energies that I ignored the anomaly.

"Take!"

"Huh?"

"C'mon, you're just standing there! Let's go!"

"Oh, sorry..." I replied sheepishly. "Just, ah, taking it all in!"

"Let's go," he said with a chuckle, and he led me down the hallway. We
passed a number of doors until we reached one with a guy in his early
twenties standing in front of it. He came off the wall and stood in the
middle of the hallway as we approached.

"Ace, we've been waiting, everyone else who could come is inside. So who's
this?"

"Doesn't-Take-Sides, meet Stephen Ehling, better known as F. J. McCloud!"

We shook hands.

"F. J., I should have guessed. Great to see you!"

He cocked his head and looked at me strangely.

"You look different than I imagined," he said, with an edge in his voice.

"I could say the same for you. Don't you remember D'nel's description in
Earthsiege?"

"Oh, yeah, actually I do! You described yourself really well, then, Take!"

"You said everyone's inside?" Ace interrupted.

"Oh, yeah, they're all ready, too. C'mon in, Take, you can meet everyone."

I followed them into the meeting room behind the door, which was about the
size of a college classroom. It was white-walled like the rest of
building, but more brightly lit, and it had been decorated with Star Fox
and Lylat Alliance logos.

The room was also filled with teenagers of all different descriptions,
most of whom were deep in conversation with each other. I took a seat
across the room from the door, in the third row back out of the four rows:
the only one left; it seemed there were only enough seats for those people
who were expected to show.

As Ace and F. J. made their way up to the front, I decided to introduce
myself to the girl sitting next to me.

"Hi. I'm Doesn't-Take-Sides."

"Oh, hi Take! I'm Ringshadow."

"Take?" said a voice in front of me. A young kid turned around and held
out his hand. "Hey, Take, I'm Sorc!"

"All right, Sorc!" I said, giving him five. "Shouldn't you be sitting up
with the founders or something?"

"Nah, we're not really going by rank here."

I felt a tap on the shoulder, and turned around to see two girls behind
me.

"I'm Flioness deLeon."

"I'm Foxy Darklighter."

"I'm Take," I replied, shaking hands with each in turn.

"Y'know," said Sorc, still leaning over the back of his chair, "it's
funny... Like, I mean we all know each other online, but we still have to
introduce ourselves to you and stuff."

"Yeah," I agreed, "I guess that's just the way the Internet works. I'll
tell you what's really funny, is I'm not used to being around so many
people who actually think I'm cool."

Everyone laughed at that.

"Oh, so I'm funny, too!"

"Yes, you are!" laughed Foxy. "Of course we think you're cool, 'cause we
don't have any idea what you're like other than what you've told us."

"I guess you're right. I mean, I look up to most of you people as leaders,
and I'm one of the oldest guys here!"

Flia pointed ahead of me. "Speaking of leaders, that's Penguinio and Star
Fire in the first row. You'll have to go meet them, too."

I didn't have any time, though, as, almost on cue, Ace stepped up to the
podium in front of the room and tapped on the mike there.

"Everyone ready? We'll start by rising and reciting the Lylat Alliance
Oath."

I stood with everyone else, and surprised myself by remembering most of
it.

"We stand for Justice.
We stand for Peace.
We stand for Hope.
We stand for Truth.
We stand for All that is Good.
In a galaxy where empires rise and fall
with each passing day...
WE STAND ALONE!"

We sat down as one, and Ace continued with a welcome to everyone, and then
some matters of major import, most of which I had not heard of before.
Listening to his rather monotone voice (funny, since it sounded like
mine), I couldn't help but fall asleep.

A poke in my side woke me up.

"Wakey, wakey, wolf boy," Ring whispered in my ear.

I picked my head up.

"What, was I laying on you?" I asked, jokingly.

"Yes, very much so."

"Sorry." I propped my head up on my other hand, and soon began to doze off
again.

I awoke with the knock at the door.

"F. J., see who that is."

Actually, it wasn't the knock that awoke me, it was something else... A
feeling... That something was terribly, awfully, wrong... The knock came
again, more persistently, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on
end.

Acting completely against my better judgment and normal introverted
manner, I stood and began walking quickly towards the door. I knew that I
had to intercept F. J. before he could reach it.

"F. J., do not open that door!" I shouted, drawing attention from all
parts of the room.

"Take, what's wrong with you?" Ace asked above the clamor that had arisen.

I reached the door and stood spread-eagled over it, shielding it from
those inside.

"Just trust me on this. It may be nothing, but if it's not..."

I slowly, carefully opened the door a crack. The scent hit me full in the
face: the awfully putrid stench of the Wyrm. I felt something tug on the
other end of the door, trying to wrench it from my grasp, and it took all
my strength to keep it from being pulled open. I got it closed and locked
it. By now, everyone had gathered in a group around me.

"Take, what the hell is going on?" Ace demanded.

"Everyone, this is very bad! Now listen to me, because your lives are all
in grave danger!" The knocking became more of a banging sound, and the
door began shaking. "Okay, I'll explain in a minute. First, I need
everyone to hold hands and get in closer around me!"

There was a general air of disbelief, but everyone complied. I took F.
J.'s and Ringshadow's hands. When I was satisfied that everyone was joined
together, I unfocused my eyes and caught the glimmer of some light in a
reflection on the inside of my glasses. I stared at that reflection,
concentrated on it, and willed myself to be pulled into it...

---

I was amazed at first by the glowing weblike patterns adorning the walls
of the dimly lit Umbral room. I stood in the middle of it and gazed about,
absorbed by a higher level of the same type of energies that had caught my
attention when I had first entered the building.

"This place is a Weaver caern!" I cried, for a time forgetting all else
around me.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Take, what just happened? Where are we?"

I turned around, and got the shock of my life. That had been Ringshadow's
voice that I had heard, but it wasn't the girl I knew as Ring standing in
front of me: it was a black panther. In fact, the sea of teenagers that I
had brought into the Umbra had been replaced by a sea of humanoid animals:
wolves, foxes, an eagle, a penguin, a blue lioness. My eyes got huge and I
backed away slowly, having forgotten completely about the Weaver. The
animal people realized something was wrong, and looked down at themselves.

"Damn..." said a fox in a kimono who sounded like Ace. "Well, I think
we've all got some explaining to do..."

From out of the corner of my eye, I saw black shapes moving about in the
room: the Umbral patterns that signified the presence of Black Spiral
Dancers in the physical world. So I had to cut him off.

"That can wait... You're all the Lylat Alliance?" Heads nodded. "And
you're all Lylatians?" More nods. "Well, I've got a surprise, too."

I shifted into Crinos- my half-man, half-wolf war form- the transformation
made easier by being in the Umbra, then shifted back again. I noted that
no one had tried to run away screaming.

"Good," I said, "you're not affected by the Delirium... Okay, I can't tell
you everything, only that as soon as we get back into the physical world,
we're going to be in for the battle of our lives. I wish I didn't have to
ask you all to risk your lives for something you don't understand, but
we're already in this too deep. If you want, I could leave you here and
try fighting with only whoever wishes to help, but if I am lost in battle,
you'd all be stuck here...

"So, I need to know... Are you with me?"

"Take, if it's important enough for you to risk your life," said F. J.,
"then I think it's important enough for all of us to take the same
chance."

Ace nodded his approval and others shouted support.

"Good," I said. "So then, I'm guessing you've got some blasters or
something?" F. J. held his up. I was almost tempted to grab it and look it
over, just to be in contact with this great piece of technology, but I
resisted that impulse. "Okay, then I'll need melee weapons up front with
me, and all projectile weapons behind us for cover fire. Sorc, can you
actually use magic?"

"Of course," he said confidently.

"Good, then your help will be greatly appreciated. Don't tax yourself,
make every spell count, and make sure you pump extra White Magic into
them, or whatever. We're gonna be fighting against pure evil here." As I
spoke, I shifted into Glabro, bulking up and adding a few extra inches to
my already overly tall body.

"Okay, once more, we all need to get together again. Once we've popped
back in, we'll only have a few moments worth of surprise for you to set
up. We'll need some cover for the gunners, and those who can't fight. Keep
Sorc back as far as possible for him to charge his magic."

I took a deep breath before continuing, and hung my head. "One last thing:
don't anyone die, please. This is all my fault and I would feel awful if
anyone died. I'm asking you to defend this building from the Wyrm, and
most of you don't even know what that is. I'm sorry."

I began walking over to the raised area the served as the Umbral
equivalent of the podium at the front of the meeting room. The Lylatians
followed me, and soon we were all holding hands once again.

"I'll warn you now, the stuff we're gonna be fighting is really strange.
Don't be afraid, just fight- they feed on fear. Oh, and if anyone's got
silver weapons, you're doubly blessed, just don't hit me. Let's go!"

I was surprised by the resounding cheer I got, and realized I was being an
uncharacteristically good leader and organizer in this case. But, with
little time to ponder that, I shifted into Crinos and pulled everyone out
of the Umbra.

---

I quickly surveyed the scene as tables were dragged together to form a
barricade. There were a dozen BSD's, all in Crinos, and at least twice as
many Fomori humans. They all stopped searching the room as we entered, and
began to roar and screech their awful war cries.

"Charge!" I roared, leading our attack forward. Using the slight momentum
of surprise we had from our sudden appearance, I rammed into and ripped
the throat from a charging Fomori. But I knew no other kills would be
quite as easy. The room erupted into a chaotic bloodbath.

I heard the screams of Garou taking aggravated wounds, and knew that there
were at least a few silver weapons on our side. I could hear the
occasional firing of lasers from behind me, and I knew that Ring was
fighting near me because every so often her trademark weapon, the Razor
Ring, whizzed past me to score a hit and then return to her hand.

I was set upon by a BSD and two Fomori, both of which had huge pincers
instead of hands and circular mouths filled with a multitude of sharp
fangs. One had its head blown off by a timely laser bolt, but the other
descended upon me, biting and clawing. My Gifts were taxed to their limit
as I ignored the pain to keep fighting.

I got the Fomori in a headlock, but the BSD was still a problem, since she
was trying very hard to gouge my eyes out. I was using the Fomori as a
shield, but the BSD had no qualms about tearing through her comrade to get
at me.

There was a sound like the crack of thunder, and both the BSD and the
Fomori dissolved in a great flash of white light and energy.

"Thanks, Sorc!" I yelled, though he couldn't have understood me.

A scream from the opposite side of the room alerted me to someone in
peril.

"Flia!"

She was surrounded by Fomori, and was fighting them off valiantly with her
sword, but her battle was a losing one.

"I'm comin'!"

I vaulted a fallen BSD, landed on the head of a Fomori, and grabbed it to
use as a club to bat others out of my way.

I reached Flia's position as she went down under the writhing mass of
Fomori arms, legs, and tentacles. I started pulling them off of her and
crushing their skulls, but it was hard work and I was already bleeding
from a number of different minor wounds. Soon, a burly fox was beside me,
helping me with the Fomori, and he was joined by another fox in a ninja
outfit.

As they dispatched the last two Fomori, I helped Flia to her feet. She was
really badly cut up, and was even missing an ear. She was also in shock
because she was clinging to me in a deathgrip and shivering, but not
making a sound.

"Flia, you'll be all right, go with..."

She screamed again and I felt a wrenching pain in my gut. I looked down,
numb with shock, and saw four black claws protruding from my stomach. The
BSD then casually ripped my kidneys out through my back.

I staggered and sank to my knees. There was a laser shot, and the BSD fell
down beside me. I looked at it weakly, my vision beginning to cloud, and
then tore its  throat out as best I could, just to be safe.

I collapsed onto my side, the world becoming a blur of blood, pain, and
the voices of Flia and the two foxes.

"Take?"

"Are you okay?"

"Take!"

They were getting hysterical.

I felt myself shifting back to Homid as I blacked out.

---

I awoke to the sound of Sorc's voice.

"Guys, he's coming to!"

"Ohhhh... shut the headlights off!"

"Take, are you all right?" I thought that sounded like Ace.

"What happened?"

"You were almost killed."

"Did we win?"

"Yeah," said a different voice, "and not one of us is dead."

"That point has yet to be decided."

"Don't talk like that, Take!" I could tell it was F. J. this time. "You
saved Flia's life!"

I tried to move, but whatever wounds I had screamed in protest and threw
me back down on whatever it was I laying on. A blue spot appeared in my
field of vision, and my eyes focused enough to tell me it was Flia.

"I owe you my life," she said, her voice still containing a treble quaver.

"Heh... Yeah, and this is the thanks I get for being chivalrous."

"Don't take on so," Flia replied. She bent over and kissed me lightly on
the cheek.

My reaction was amazing. Ignoring all wounds, I sat bolt upright and my
vision cleared instantly.

"Good night, everybody!"

There was general laughter as everyone saw I was okay. I grinned
foolishly, knowing I probably had been overplaying my injuries, acting
melodramatic as usual. Though I still cringed as my wounds reasserted
their pain.

I noticed the two foxes that had helped me with the Fomori, the burly one
and the ninja.

"I couldn't have gotten rid of those Fomori without you guys," I said.
"Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm the Silent Assassin, didn't you know?" said the ninja guy.

"And I'm Hells'angel On A Rampage," said the other.

"Oh, I get it! You're right! I recognize you from Ace's and Peng's pics!"
I shook their hands.

I took some time to survey what damage had been done. HOAR was covered in
bites and scratches, but didn't look too bad. TSA had a bandage around his
arm, which was soaked in blood. Star had her arm in a sling, and Ring had
a black eye, which I could only tell because it was swelled shut. Flia was
most likely the worst off, because she was missing an ear and had a number
of puncture wounds on her that had stopped bleeding. I myself had a large
bandage around my midsection, and my stomach and back hurt like hell when
I tried moving. We were all covered in blood, as was the room, though most
of it wasn't our own. I was most surprised to see that...

"Ace, how the hell did you get through without taking a hit?"

Ace looked down at himself, as if noticing for the first time.

"Whoa! I have no idea. Those things were hard to fight! I feel bad now,
since you guys got beat up."

"Don't: Garou claws deal ags, and they hurt like a bitch. Say, your sword
isn't silver, is it?"

He unsheathed it. "I don't know..."

"Let me see it."

He handed it to me, and I grabbed the blade, slowly shifting to Glabro as
I did so. I felt the cool metal suddenly become hot and burn my hand. With
a cry of pain, I dropped it.

"Yep," I remarked, sucking on my hand as I shifted back to Homid, "there's
at least enough silver there that the BSD's got the idea early on to leave
you alone. Lucky bastard. That's gonna smart for a couple days.

"So, who do I have to thank for saving my behind?"

"That'd be F. J.," said Peng, pushing the fox forward. "He shot down a
whole bunch of those whaddyacallems for you."

"Actually," said F. J., becoming modest, "it was all of us. Peng did just
as much as I did. See, the BSD's were never able to touch us but we
couldn't shoot them all for fear of hitting you guys.

"And anyway," he continued, "it's really Sorc you should thank. He used
his magic to heal you and Flia."

Sorc jumped as if suddenly waking up. "Uh, yeah... You two had it worst,
but you'll both live."

"Well, then, I feel sorry for you, Flia," I said. "I should be fine in a
few days, after I've gotten some rest, 'cause Garou heal fast."

"Speaking of which," Ace said, interrupting whatever Flia was going to
say, "isn't it about time we got some explanations here?"

"You first," I said, shifting painfully on the table.

"I'm gonna go lay down," Sorc said sleepily. "I'm tired out completely. I
need some sleep."

"Go ahead," Ace told him, "you've earned it.

"As for you, Take," he continued, turning to me, "prepare yourself..."

---

There are Lylatians living on Earth, and there have been for quite some
time. I myself do not know for how long or when or why we first arrived
here, because I was born here. My parents don't even know, so it's been
some time.

We Lylatians have never seen Lylat, Andross, or the Star Fox Team, except
for what you yourself, as a Terran, would know from playing Star Fox. And
we have no way of getting home, either. The funny thing is that few of us
knew who or where other Lylatians were. We all felt a little alone here on
Earth.

When Penguinio formed the Lylat Alliance, he was looking for some kind of
escape, some little bit of that home that none of us have ever known. What
he got was a great number of Earth-born Lylatians who wanted the same
thing, as well as some Terrans, like yourself. We portrayed ourselves
online, knowing that no one could really know the truth while we were
under the anonimity of the Internet. Earthsiege and TFN have been more of
the same thing: attempts by us to regain some of the heritage we've lost.

The other funny thing is that even once we had met each other, we still
didn't know who we really were. It wasn't until sometime last summer,
before we had met you as D'nel the ex-Mage online, that we first met
face-to-face and found out the truth. We can somehow sense if a person is
a Lylatian when we're near them, and so all at once we realized that
something weird was going on. We compared stories and found out that that
was indeed true. So we began meeting, just the Lylatian members of the LA,
once every now and then. And whenever we found someone new, we would meet
them, too, to see if they were Lylatian. Most weren't, and who you see
here now is all that we've found.

So that's why we brought you here, to see if you were possibly Lylatian,
since not all of us necessarily have picked online Lylatian personas, and
some who have have turned out to be human after all. And that's why F. J.
and I were kind of disappointed when we saw you: you're not Lylatian, and
we were hoping you were. Though, really, it doesn't matter.

---

"So then why do you all look human?" I asked.

"Ah, that's important! See, we've always been masquerading as humans so
that we could interact normally with society. We've all got holographic
projectors, that are advanced enough that your technology hasn't been able
to discover them." He began patting his blood-soaked kimono, and got a
worried look on his face. "Uh, that is, we had them. Guys, do any of you
have yours?"

Everyone began to search their pockets, and no one came up with one.

"Oh, shit," said Penguinio. He pointed to the door, at where we had first
stepped sideways into the Umbra. "Guys, look there."

All heads turned, to see a pile of smashed machinery, sitting under dead
bodies and lots of blood.

"Oh guys, I'm sorry," I said. "When I took you all into the Umbra, they
didn't come because they weren't spirit bonded to you. So when the BSD's
stormed in, they crushed all the holoprojectors underfoot."

"How can we live if we can't look human?" Ring asked, forlorn.

"I don't know..." said Ace, with just as much dejection in his voice.

Strangely enough, I brightened up. "Guys, I have an idea, but first let me
tell you about everything..."

---

You see, everything that I've ever told you about Garou is true. Every
Tribe, everything about the BSD's, Wyld, Weaver, Wyrm, Gaia, Luna, Bastet,
Corax, Kitsune, vampires, mages, Fae- it's all true. And the Whitewolf
games, too, to some degree.

You see, a long time ago, a whole bunch of supernatural creatures came
together and decided that if they created games based on themselves, then
humans would play them and both be educated about our natures for the day
in which we must reveal ourselves to them, as well as being kept in the
dark about our true existence. And they worked, if they bent the truth a
bit, and we've been kept ever more secret because of it.

So everything I told you is true about Garou. But what about me?

Well, I've been just your average everyday Homid Philodox Glass Walker
since my First Change. My pack up north is called the City's Shadow, and
we've been together only for a while, since we all found out who was Garou
and Kinfolk, and who wasn't. Kind of like you guys, only we had no way of
telling who was or was not until they went through their First Change.

Now, I wasn't really planning on meeting aliens when I got down here, but
I was looking forward to meeting a great number of my online friends IRL,
which I'm still pleased to know I did.

But when I actually stepped into this building, the energy of it
astonished me. I could actually feel the structure as if it were a living,
breathing entity. But I didn't understand at first what that meant, since
I'm not a Theurge or anything. What it meant is that this place is a
Weaver caern: a place of power dedicated to the Triat spirit that guides
my Tribe.

See, it must be rather old, and it needn't be the building, only the area
it sits on. Very possibly, the caern itself was forgotten, and became
dormant, only to be reawakened when the building was placed on it, and
then when a Glass Walker (myself) came to it. Otherwise, the BSD's would
have found out about it long ago, and they would have defiled the caern to
their own dark ways.

See, I figure this way: this 'corporation' that was meeting here was a
subsidiary of Pentex- this huge multinational corporation that serves the
Wyrm. They've got feelers all over the place, and you can never be sure if
a company is owned by them or not. So they obviously didn't know about
this place, and it was just a fluke that they were here when I got here,
because once that happened, they realized the power of this place and
decided to get their grubby little hands on it.

---

"But that's where my plan comes in," I said, finishing the story, "if you
guys can't interact with normal humans anymore, then why not stay here and
run the Lylat Alliance from this caern? I mean, we need to protect it from
the Wyrm, which has apparently sunk its roots deep into Columbus, and
neither I nor my pack can do that right now.

"I'm asking you guys to give up a lot, and I hate to sound like I'm the
only one here who has a life or anything, or that my life is more
important than yours, but you have to realize that every pure caern that
falls into the hands of the Wyrm is one less caern for the true Garou to
use against them. And I think I'll probably be coming down here anyway to
attend college next year, since I know there's this caern nearby."

"Hang on," said HOAR, "what's all this Wyrm stuff? I'm not following you."

I sighed. "I guess you weren't actually around when I wrote up that post
to explain about Garou terms, huh? All I can say is that you'll learn.
You'll all have to learn."

"Hold on, Take," Star protested. "You can't just say that we have to leave
behind our homes and families to stay here for the rest of our lives!"

"Yeah, and I'm paying good money to go to college!" F. J. added.

"I really can't ask you guys to do that," I conceded. "I only know that if
there's no one here to guard the caern that it will fall to the Wyrm. But
your families are all Lylatian, correct? So you could tell them or even
bring them down here with you. F. J., there's probably colleges around
here that you could get transferred to."

"Yeah, sure, Ohio State," he grumbled.

"I'm serious, guys, I need your help. I'm asking you to make a huge
sacrifice so that I don't have to. And you don't have any extra
holoprojectors, do you?"

Ace shook his head. "No. They were always passed down through the
generations of Lylatians here, like the blasters."

"And we don't have the technology to make more," F. J. added.

"But you could probably figure it out, right? If anyone could, you could,
F. J. I can probably use my Influences to pull strings, get you all
Internet connections and stuff, and make sure the mundanes leave you all
alone. Maybe I could get the building dedicated as a research center or
something."

I could tell Ace was thinking it over. There was a lot of whispered
discussion and debate, and I began to get the feeling that maybe they
wouldn't want to risk their lives and give up their families to protect
something that truly had no meaning to them.

"I think," said Peng slowly, "that we could do it."

"General consensus?" Ace asked. Heads nodded, slowly at first, then more
and more. I was amazed, and the smile that spread across my face was both
huge and one of genuine surprise, relief, and happiness.

"It's settled, then," Ace said. "We'll help you, Take."

There was a great deal of cheering and handshaking. Someone clapped me on
the back, making me fall off the table and collapse onto my knees in pain.

"Whoa, Take! You all right?"

"I've heard that a lot recently... Oh, that's gonna hurt for a while...
I'm more tired than I thought. Could someone take me home?"

"I'm on it," F. J. said, helping me up. "Only this time, you travel in
style."

---

As the Arwing lifted off, F. J. looked back to make sure I was okay.

"How ya doin', Take? This puppy was passed down through my family. I'm the
only member of the Lylat Alliance who's got one!"

In response, I shifted to Lupus and let out a long, clear howl of
triumphant joy.



4/3/99

---

OOC: Hey, if you liked it, please tell me. Send feedback to
N64Philodox@yahoo.com. I've got an idea of doing a sequel to this, and if
enough people like it, I will, though probably not for quite some time
yet.