Venturing: Impassive Centre

“There is a realm. Beyond our own.” Yang explained, darting her eyes as she continued “I am honestly not sure what it is or what we will expect from this realm. But…” she trailed, closing her eyes and her wings folded behind her “The cats have taken her there.” “Perhaps to reconcile with someone?” Kyro interrupted, raising his claw. Yang shook her head with uncertainty replying to him “Probably. Or is an act of their own accord.” “Wait wait.” Zander growled harshly, squinting his eyes at Yang “How do we know they planned this? Did they also planned the bombing of our city? What about the principal and the owner? Were they just pawns for the bigger cause?”

Everyone fell silent. No doubt pondering over whatever the black dragon was saying. And when everyone’s eyes turned to him, he smirked with confidence and his eyes shifted away. Glancing onto a bigger picture. At the end of the period of silence, I heard Yang sighed and shook her head. Clearing her thoughts, she rose her head and spread her wings “Zander.” She started, immediately that Zander flinched when mentioned his name “Come with me.” A silence of a nod remarked from the dragon as Zander mirrored Yang. They jumped from the grounds and flew off leaving the rest of us behind.

Kyro and Natty got up from their spots; stretching their bodies and wings as I heard bones cracking in my ears. I paid no attention to them for silence was my only answer. However, I kept tabs on them. Watching them do their routine with my eyes. When Natty caught me staring at them, she smiled faintly striking a conversation “You looked spaced out? Enjoying the night here in this unknown realm?” “I have been better,” I commented answering her as she breaks into a smile. She walked over to me, sitting down upon the empty spot and rose her claw to my shoulders telling me “Come then. The duo will not be coming back for a while. They are studying the cutouts.” “Where you guys headed?” I asked and Kyro replied butting into our conversation “Exploration. Yang wanted us to see the warehouses that these cutouts came from.” “Ok.” I nodded. I and Natty got up from our seats. Spread our wings before flying off westward and away from Yang and Zander.

However, a thought was still nagging my mind. I decided to push it away as we flew the horizon. The skies were dark, a new moon had risen in this realm. Buildings were smaller than our own buildings in the order realm; there seems to be no one living inside them. I have yet to wonder what was like in those buildings. Were they clustered or loose? What about the halls?

I shook my head of all the wandering thoughts as we kept flapping our wings while a chill wind gust attacked my face and went underneath my wings. With a flap, I overheard the whispering conversation between Kyro and Natty. They seemed to be talking about something. Pushing the need to butt in as vengeance for them butting in onto mine, I squinted my eyes. And ahead I spotted a warehouse. Isolated away from the other buildings. The warehouse was smaller than the regular buildings. A chimney leaning on its side. As I interrupted Kyro and Natty pointing to the target ahead of us, both dragons smiled faintly. We tilted our wings and tucked them against our bodies. Dive Bombing to the grounds below, we landed. A few inches away from the warehouse

Underneath the fields of darkness, the three of us walked calmly to the front doors of the building. Kyro and I slammed our bodies against the surface of the doors. But It has not budged. We tried again. The door bender to our will, we see an opening crack through the corners of the door. As Natty rose her toes upward and looked inward, she whispered to us “No one is around.” “The place is dark?” Kyro asked her, she nodded silently before slamming her claw onto the door. She stabbed the beaten-up door and tore it apart into two. Revealing the entrance to us, we started in

A single hallway stands in our wake; train tracks sit at the center of the halls. Running straight down the middle towards a brown door at the end of the halls. White walls greeted us. Pale and empty were they. The lights were also gone and no bulbs were found on the ground. I frowned, nervousness crept up my stomach as my wings hanged. Kyro gave me an assuring smile. We walked as one. Down the road. Our footsteps were our only sound. 

Three steps in and something slammed behind us. We all flinched, turned around. Marveling at a new door staring back at us as if Natty’s bloody murder had not happened at all. Scared and curious, I turned around and resumed the walk down. Reaching the door on the other side of the halls, I reached out and grabbed it. Thus tilting the bulb to one side; it crept. But allowed us in. All three of us stared ahead at the creepy darkroom before us.

But we also saw the cutouts. They were standing proud and tall. Brown sticks were stabbing underneath them. I had expected to see dried blood or rotten corpse. But all I saw was a white goo and sticky. I flinched in reaction as Kyro rose his walkie. Pressing the button on the side before reporting “Yang, Zander; we found one of the four buildings. Inside them were the cutouts. Does this fit your case, Yang?” A brief silence echoed before Yang’s voice emerged from the walkie “10-4. That is the one. It’s a surprise that the cutouts are there. We spotted several more in the northeast part of the city.” “Copy that.” Kyro replied, “Disable all the cutouts.” Yang ordered, “How?” Kyro asked

Another silence before Kyro confirmed we lost the connection. Thus quickly turned to us as I stared at Kyro. “How are we going to disable them?” I asked, “There must be some sort of switch or button or remote that controls them.” Natty suggested, glancing at me and Kyro momentarily “Find that and we should-“ however before we could hear the rest of Natty’s suggestion, we heard a vibration rapidly turning into an earthquake. Panicking frantically, we split and dive down to anything we could find

Kyro picked the door. I went underneath the table. Natty ran out the door but remained close in case of an enemy ambush. The earthquake continued slowing vibrating until it stopped altogether. Everything remained still but we were not going to take that false peace we have. And remained in our hiding spots until we spotted the cutouts glowing bright blue. Thus hearing the engine roaring in our ears, we watched as they drove out on their own and disappeared. I was shocked that I threw myself out from the table, shouting to Kyro and Natty as I ran out to follow them. Kyro and Natty did the same.

We ran down the same paths as the cutouts do; passed the buildings and alleyways as we entered the center of the city. And from there we had stopped, pausing and wheezing in and out as Kyro muttered something between his exhausted breaths. Our eyes were upfront and to the horizon; where we spotted another building alone. It was surrounded by brown wooden fences. A slight humming echoed in our ears. And as we stared, my ears flick to one side hearing a gust of wind blew past me. I turned, Kyro and Natty mirrored me. And we were face to face with Yang and Zander. Yang’s face had lightened up, she smiled faintly at us but drew her attention to the building at the center. And her face droop and her mouth fell; thoughts perhaps were swinging around inside her head. I walked up and spoke

“What is the plan? How are we going to get in there?” 

“We found out recently before regrouping with you guys that the cutouts were heading northeast from the center. Disappearing after they entered into the entrance door.” Yang replied shoving her claw northwestward as she explained “their glows really stand out.” 

“But what about the earthquake?” Kuro suddenly asked which Yang turned to him with a confused look on her face “What earthquake?” We froze in silence before a thought crossed our mind that the paired were flying overhead. Fainted smiled were the results as Yang spreads her wings again, motioning everyone to come with her. We all did collectively.

And so took to the skies once again, heading to a direction that Yang had wanted us to go. As we flew in the dark clear skies above, I listened to the breezy winds howling in my ears as a soft hummed music enter alongside. The music was loud and easy to hear; often times I had found myself beating my wings to its music. After a while, it stopped when we fast approached our destination. Landing to the grounds below, Yang motioned for me and Zander. We ran without hesitation or questioning her; slamming our bodies against the cold bricks that brushed against us, we waited. Then I heard some rapid footsteps and quickly stealing a glance over, spotted Natty and Kyro splitting up from Yang. Natty ran to the backyard of the warehouse as Kyro flew to the top window above, breaking and entering inside as Yang joins me and Zander.

Thus remained the silence as both me and Zander stared at Yang. Noticing her hardened expression she is unknowingly making upon her face, her wings tucked close to her. Her tail wagging about. Our ears were filled with sudden screams that snapped our attention from Yang and pressed our bodies onto the door. Rapid footsteps came tumbling, tripping over one another at times as a second familiar voice came shouting from behind. The footsteps became louder until the door opened. Yang Zander and me took the advantage and ambushed him. All three of us jumped the victim and wrestled him to the ground

“You are under arrest for protecting evidence for a case!” Yang exclaimed unaware of what me and Zander were staring shockingly upon. “Er Yang,” I spoke out, finding my voice after a shortage of stuttering. She looked up at me with a proud smile on her face as if she had achieved something or at least trying to please me. Underneath the dragoness, between her legs was a fox. Pale fur. Busy tail. He looked like a younger adult or something. He looked angry or frustrated by something as I persuaded Yang to release him. She did eventually.

And so we all stared at the new creature standing before us as he got up onto his two feet. The fox looked average for his young adult age. I saw bulks of muscles upon his chest. His fur trimmed. His bushy tail stretched outward as his eyes stared onto us. We all remained silent, my thoughts debated whether or not he was average or shorter than most fox species. Which had reminded me that we had not since seen one after the principal had joined up with the owner.

“Where are we then…” I found myself muttering but my voice was a tad too high and the fox caught it before pulling a big grin on its face “Welcome to the Chaos realm.” We were all in disbelief and silence suddenly winked in before Zander shattered it asking, “But where is the chaos?”

The fox shook his head and flattened his ears. Frowning before he replied to the us “There is none. At least, not since the principal have destroyed the Spiritual realm and forced the R7 to disband.” “The R7?” Yang asked, the fox nodded and faintly smile “Yeah R7. A former psychotic group looking to redeem canines alike from their corruptive selves. It was a success until the inevitable happened… but I take it you guys are not here for that story.” We all shook our heads as the fox chuckled before shoving one paw into his fur, dragging out a button.

And with a click, something had happened