Armageddon Part one: Charyss by JClawson (formerly Razor31763) email: jclawson@hotmail.com Cass, Charyss, and the Gauntlet Flux are all copyrights of JClawson '97 Author's Note: Yep, another story with Cass in it. If you haven't a clue on who she is, you might want to skim over "Two Sided Mirror Part One." Another note: The bad guy communicates telepathically to one of his henchmen later in the story, so here's the codes: the * means that's the bad guy, and the + means that's his henchman. ~J ---------------------------------------------- Charyss (pronounced: chair-iss), the white wolf, strode through the spirit world, lost. She had been in pursuit of a dangerous creature capable of any destructive power it could muster in its wicked mind. "I had better find my way out of this situation," Charyss told herself aloud, "The spirit world is no place for a lone wolf." The white wolf glanced around around her briefly, and decided to use a trick... Charyss skillfully used her paw, and lifted the amulet which hung around her neck to her snout. She glared at her reflection in the mirror-like charm, and stepped forward........ ----------------------------------------------- The white wolf found herself in what appeared to be a park of some sort during the evening hours. A steady rain was falling, and the air had a taste of spring in it. "Hmmm, it seems I am in a city of some sort. " Charyss hypothesized, and looked across the street at a kat standing on a corner, waiting for the bus. "Yet I have never seen any creatures quite like that one before..." Charyss puzzled over this strange world of kats for quite sometime as she walked through the park. Then the sting of the cold spring rains began to take their toll. Charyss wandered her way out of the park, ignoring all signs, for she was incapable of reading. She strode through back alleys, and side streets so as not to be noticed by any residents of this city as she searched for a reasonable shelter. Charyss felt so lost in the physical world all by herself, and the feeling of vulnerability washed over her. She constantly looked over her shoulder as she traveled, and trotted at an awkward pace. Yet all that was on her mind was her enemy and its whereabouts. --------------------------------------------------------- The time was now 9:00pm, and the Scaredy Kat toons had finished their debuts. Chance was glad he hadn't missed the new episodes. Satisfied, the tomkat exited the living room to relieve his churning stomach, leaving Jake by himself to flick the channels. Cass had gone to bed early with a bad migraine that had been plaguing her from dawn until dusk. None of the Excedrin had helped any. "Chance, there's nothing on the tube. Why don't you and I just finish the crossword puzzle that we never started?" "Jake, crossword puzzles are sooooooo boring. Let's play poker instead." "With what money? And besides, I'm not too fond of that game anyway." "C'mon, Jake. We'll play for chocolate or something." "No. Look, I'm just going to go to bed alright. I get really nasty when I'm bored. I'll see you in the morning." Jake then exited the living room. Chance shrugged at his buddy's attitude. It wasn't like Jake to turn down a friendly competition. "Must be this rainy weather." The large tomkat said aloud as he began to shuffle the deck of cards he had pulled out of the utility drawer. He then carefully laid them out in front of him, and prepared for a game of Solitaire. ------------------------------------------------ The moon was in its crescent phase, providing little light for Charyss as she proceeded to find shelter. The wolf had followed the dirt roads all the way to the salvage yard, and hoped she would find a place to bed down amongst the heaps of junk. Charyss surveyed the wooden wall which surrounded the yard. She crouched low, and skillfully leapt the wall, using all of her leg power. When the wolf landed on the other side, she noticed a light in the distance. Charyss peered at the dim glow, and trotted in its direction. When she came in the view of the house from which the light came, the look on her face brightened. The garage door had been left open. "It is as if someone was, or is, expecting me." Charyss chimed delightfully, and walked into the garage. The white wolf maneuvered around the green car that slept peacefully in the place where it had been parked, and found her way into a corner. Charyss shook her soggy fur out, and with a long yawn, curled up into a ball of fur. The soft patter of the falling rain put her to sleep almost as quickly as it had drenched her. -------------------------------------------------- It was bright and early the next morning that Chance and Jake woke up. The two of them made their way to the garage to fetch the papers for Callie Briggs' car to make sure each of the problems had been taken care of properly. "Looks like one of us forgot to close the garage door last night." Jake said to Chance, and shook his index finger at him. "Alright, so I forgot to close it before I went to bed last night. But it's not like anyone could steal the car." "You're forgetting the tools." "I doubt anyone got over the wall." "There's a lot of dumb crooks out there, but I wouldn't underestimate any of them." "Don't worry so much all the time, Jake. That's gonna give you wrinkles. Not that you don't already have them." Chance elbowed his friend playfully, and laughed. Jake glanced at him, and smiled with a sarcastic look, "I, uh, wouldn't talk if I were you......" Jake snickered, and pointed at his friend's forehead. Chance raised his eyebrows, and put a paw to his head, feeling for wrinkles. He found none. "That wasn't funny. What if I did start getting wrinkles early? What would Callie say?" Jake sighed and rolled his eyes, "You'll never give up on winning her affections will you?" "No way. Not as long as she's available." "All I can say is good luck. Cause if your buddies at the pool hall found out that I had a girlfriend, and YOU, being the hotshot you are, didn't, then they would get a helluva laugh." Jake paused at the thought for a moment, and then burst out with a hysterical laughter. Chance folded his arms across his chest. "Hmph. Looks like you already beat them to it." Jake patted Chance on the shoulder, a friendly gesture implying that he was only playing, and the two of them headed into the garage.... ---------------------------------------------------------------- Charyss, who was very tired, had not yet awakened. However, it was unknown to her that her wakeup call was on the way.... ---------------------------------------------------------------- Jake and Chance stumbled around in the mess, looking for the papers which were vital to Callie's car repair. If they didn't know what needed to be fixed, they'd be in trouble. Chance scuffed around to the front of the car, where Charyss was sleeping, and tripped over the large mass. Jake whirled around at the loud crash which had startled him completely, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw the wolf. Charyss growled at the tomkat on the ground. Chance carefully crawled around to the rear of the car to escape being bitten. When the tomkat rejoined Jake's side, Charyss advanced, claws and teeth ready.. "See, what'd I tell you. When you leave the garage door open, bad things happen. And so far, this is the oddest one yet." Jake scolded his friend. "Okay, okay, I'll close it next time. But we've got other problems." Charyss slowed her growling, puzzled by the kats' actions. They did not seem to want to fight with her. They were asking her to leave. Charyss decided to use her soul reading abilities, since these beings did not seem dangerous. The wolf closed her eyes and meditated, radiating a blue glow around her head as she concentrated on the kats for quite some time. Jake and Chance stood in awe at the wolf, watching her without making a sound. "What's he doing?" Chance asked. "Got me. But it looks like he's finished." Jake pointed at Charyss who now sat with her eyes open, and a suttle look on her face. "Have no more fear, Kats. I will not harm you, for I sense no evil within you." Jake and Chance only stood dumbfounded. "Perhaps I should tell you why I'm here." The tomkats stood still and silent, their eyes wide. "Alright then. I can see you two are not much for words. Well, I'll just get on with this. I'm here because I got lost last night after I had come through my moonbridge, and your garage was the only suitable place I could find, and so-" "Wait a minute, Shaggy," Chance threw up his paws and interrupted the wolf, "slow down for a minute." "Quite sorry. " "Can you explain all of this gibberish? Slower maybe?" "Yes. I'll start from the beginning........" Charyss relaxed herself, and took a breath........ "You should know that I come from the spirit world. I was in pursuit of an enemy of mine for a long while until he disappeared, leaving me lost. The only choice I had was to open a moonbridge, which is a passage that enables quick travel in, out, and around the spirit world........ Anyway, I came out of the bridge into a park of some sort. It was raining, and I really needed shelter. That was when I came across the open garage. I would have been gone before the first sign of sunrise, but I was very tired, and I overslept." "That's alright. We understand your problem." Jake said sympathetically. "Yeah, and I suppose you could stay here until you get your act together." Chance added. "Of course. And maybe we can help you out with this enemy of yours too." Charyss looked at Jake, and curled her lip up in a lupine smile that seemed to say "yeah right". "YOU?!? Pha! You mortals could never stand up to him." "Look, wolfie-" Chance started to say. "Charyss. And I noticed you referred to me as a he. I am female." The wolf interrupted him. "Okay, sorry about that, Charyss. But could you just explain. After all, you don't know what we're capable of either." "I suppose you're right. But you don't know what MY enemy is capable of. " Charyss countered. "Just please explain." Jake said. "Now, my enemy is known to the denizens of the spirit world as the Gauntlet Flux. He is a shape shifting creature that is capable of more power than you could ever imagine........... A long time ago, he was just a normal werewolf. But he wanted power. Thus he sought a creature known as Nightmaster. Nightmaster granted the Gauntlet Flux powers in return for skills in thaumaturgy." "Creepy," Jake shuddered, "but why does this guy call himself the Gauntlet Flux. It sounds really dorky." "Indeed it sounds odd, but he calls himself by that name because he uses his powers to warp the gauntlet. Assuming you don't know what the gauntlet is, it's the boundary between the spirit and physical worlds." "Why does he do it?" "Because it enables him to trap his enemies in the spirit world, and dispose of them at his leisure." "Ech." Chance spat. "Um, question." Jake interrupted again. "Yes?" Charyss replied. "If this 'Gauntlet Flux' should ever show up in our world, how would we recognize him?" "You will know him by the blue flame. This fire appears in areas the Gauntlet Flux has recently visited. But you should pray that you never come across it." "Why?" "It would be a total apocalypse for your kind." Both Jake and Chance were silent. "Well, " Chance changed the subject, "how about I take Charyss inside, Jake, and you finish looking for those papers." "Fine with me." Jake also rose. "C'mon, Charyss. Let's go and introduce you to Cass." "Much obliged, Chance." ------------------------------------------------------- Chance entered the house and found Cass in the kitchen, fixing herself some toast. "Hey, Cass?" The she-kat turned around and smiled, "Good morning, Chance. What's up?" "Jake and I kinda have a visitor that we want you to meet." Cass only nodded, and followed the tomkat outside. Charyss was sitting, waiting for them. "Cass, " Chance introduced, "this is Charyss. She's lost and wants to stay with us until she gets her bearings." "How ya doin', Charyss?" Cass greeted the wolf. "Fine, quite fine." "Well, it's nice to have you staying here. Why don't you come inside, and have some food. You look like you're kind of hungry." "I am, actually. Thank you for the offer." Cass motioned with her hand to Charyss, and the wolf eagerly followed her into the house. ------------------------------------------------------ Evening approached quickly, and the sun began to sink in the horizon. A cool breeze tossed the leaves on the trees, and a black wolf moved across the green fields of Megakat springs. The wolf's fur was shiny with grease, it drooled a blue substance from its mouth, and its overgrown talons tore the earth as it loped toward the city. "Hrrrrrrrrrrrr. The last place I needed to end up was here in a city." The wolf began a soliloquy, "Now I'll never be able to breach the gauntlet. There is not enough spirit energy here." The creature paused in thought for a moment, blue steam seeping out of his fur as his anger boiled. "This is all Charyss' fault. If she hadn't have been chasing me, I wouldn't have come out here." The Gauntlet Flux continued grumbling to himself as he proceeded. But then an idea hit him, and he curled his lip, forming a smirk on his wolfen face. "But, what if Charyss tried to follow me. That means she would end up in this very city also. If that is so, then I will find her, and kill her. Of course, that will be hard unless I destroy the metropolis in the process. I could never find one wolf in a city so large.....Then again, this city wouldn't look half bad as a blightscape. It would make an excellent spawning ground for the corrupters, and stronghold for myself." The Gauntlet Flux laughed to himself as he formed a vision of the city under his control in his mind. The wolf trotted up to the top of a hill that overlooked Megakat City, which was now silhouetted against the setting sun. Summoning his powers, the Gauntlet Flux shifted into a blob of blue water, and began to move downhill toward the city..... -------------------------------------------------- The Gauntlet Flux made his way through the neon-drenched maze in the form of a kat, so no one would be suspicious. He stopped constantly, testing the air for Charyss' scent. "It'll take too long to search this entire cityscape. I'll need help first. I'll need my legions." It was a brilliant idea. But the Gauntlet Flux knew he would need to summon his first hand man. "Telepathy is the only way to reach him from here." the black kat told himself as he strode to a street-side bench. He took a seat, and touched two bony fingers to his forehead. The Gauntlet Flux closed his eyes and concentrated, sending a message into the spirit world. ----------------------------------------------------- Somewhere within the reaches of a blightscape, a werewolf roams through the slimy waters. His bat like ears begin to twitch. He senses a pulse of energy from another force, which he recognizes as the Gauntlet Flux's telepathy. The corrupt werewolf touches two of his clawed fingers to his forehead, and concentrates........ ++++Gauntlet Flux?++++ *****Bone Crusher, you must come into the physical world. I have plans for you and I.**** ++++Okay, but where should I come out at, and where can I meet you?++++ *****Follow my instructions as to where to open the moonbridge, and I'll be waiting**** ++++Alright++++ Bone Crusher listened closely to his master's instructions, and moved as quickly as he could to the suggested spot in which he should open his bridge. There, the werewolf seized a charm from around his neck, and looked into the mirror.......... ------------------------ When Bone Crusher entered into the physical world, he was in a park. The moon was new, and it was pitch black, except for the neon lights in the background. The werewolf's only eye adjusted quickly, and he saw the tall narrow figure of the Gauntlet Flux in his kat form. "Excellent timing, Bone Crusher." "No problem. But what's the story here, G.F?" "You remember Charyss, do you not?" Bone Crusher growled low, "Yes, I do. She was the one who tore out my eye months ago." "Well, I'm glad you still have your hatred for her, because we're going to hunt her." "G.F, we'll never find her in this city. It's huge." "I am aware of that. That is why we will find secrecy in a place I have discovered, and begin creating a blight. As the city decays, it will reveal our enemy." "If she hasn't found any allies, or found her way back to the forest to escape into the spirit world yet." "I am aware of this, my friend, but we should consider the fact that Charyss is in unfamiliar territory. And there are not many who would help a wolf." "I just hope your scheme works." "Do not doubt, Bone Crusher. Do not doubt....Now come with me." Bone Crusher obediently followed his superior into the darkness of the park. ----------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, Megakat City rests peacefully on its foundation, its residents unaware of the apocalyptic crisis it is about to undergo. The Armageddon was nearer than it had ever been before. It would be the darkest day in the history of kat kind. End of Part One