The Last Animega

Calypso Returns

I sat in front of the dying fire, not taking my gaze off of the sleeping form for a moment. Her black ears twitched as she dreamed, the twin tails occasionally flicked back and forth. How was it possible that she was here? I saw her die, I saw everyone die. Even though it was probably a trap, and that she was just an illusion, I couldn't help but smile. At the moment, I didn't care if it was one of Aiden's tricks, Calypso was lying in front of me. One of the people I had lost was alive. 

Dillon, Amber, and Serena all sat a distance away from her. They were just as confused about what had happened as I was. We all sat there, no one moved except for Calypso's small movements that she made in her sleep. Just as the last burning bit of charcoal lost its red glow, she woke up. Calypso's dark silhouette slowly made its way into a sitting position. A shadowed hand went up to her face to cover up a loud yawn. 

"Hey!" she mumbled, still half asleep. "Someone turn on the lights!" Realizing that the flames had gone out, I quickly added fuel to the dead flames and restarted the fire. The wood was soon ablaze, and continued to slowly melt away any unfortunate snow that was in reach of its heat. Calypso stared at me for a while, no one dared to make a sound. The others remained a safe distance away from us, just barely out of reach of the fire's light. Her green eyes seemed to glow as it reflected the yellow flames. She looked around, confused. 

"Where are the others?" She asked. 

That question automatically filled me with sadness. I hugged my legs in tight to my torso, trying my best to not break down and cry. "Don't you remember anything?" I murmured. 

She shook her head and then tilted it like a curious cat would. "Nope, what happened?" My silence was all it took to make her understand. Calypso's ears fell down flat against her head. "Oh, okay. They fought, didn't they? They didn't go down without a fight." A small smile pulled at the corners of my lips, and I nodded. That was one thing I was happy about from that day, no one backed down. They didn't die as cowards, like what I am. Sure, I'm nice and all, I would do anything for my friends. But in the end, I was a coward at heart. I was afraid and alone and too uncertain of myself to allow others to rely on me. 

I heard someone sneeze from behind us. Calypso shot up in an instant, ready to fight. "Who's there?" She called out. 

"Sit down," I ordered, my tone dry and empty of emotion. "They're with me...unfortunately." 

Amber was the first to step out of the shadows. "God, Sam, you don't have to sound so negative about it." The wound on her cheek was blotted out by the shadows thrown by the roaring fire. 

I pulled my knees in closer. "It's not like I wanted you to come along. You, Dillon and Serena would still be in Mazeville if the Troops hadn't shown up." 

Calypso tilted her head again. "Troops?" 

Dillon stepped out next, Serena close behind. "Where have you been these last couple of months? Everyone knows about the Troops. They're out hunting for Animegas." 

Calypso eyed me worriedly. "Why?" 

I shrugged and threw another log into the fire. In truth, I didn't know either. Maybe it was because we were too different. That was always the case in history, the strange were hunted into extinction. Amber, always being the one to break the ice, plopped down beside Calypso, who replied with a small growl. "What's with the ears?" She asked, pointing to the silky panther ears. 

Calypso, who was never one to be very social, scooted away a bit. "I was born with them. Same with the tails too, if you were going to ask that next." 

"Cool!" Amber exclaimed. "Like, can you fight with them and stuff? Can you control how they move? Do you know anyone else with animal ears and tails?" 

Even I was getting a headache from her bombardment of questions. Standing up, I grabbed my bow and arrow. "Guys, I have some things I want to talk to Calypso about. So if you excuse us..." She shot up as fast as she could and hurriedly followed me into the forest. Only when we were a good distance from the others did Calypso finally calm down. 

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked. 

"Nothing, really." I replied. "Amber can be a pain when she wants to know things, and I know how much you hate that kind of thing."

Her smile was shadowed, but I could tell it was there. "Thanks..." She looked down, "How much did I miss?" 

"A lot. Everyone's dead, the Guardians included. All of a sudden, the Animegas were being hunted again. Then this guy Aiden showed up-" 

Her head snapped up so fast I'm surprised that it didn't break. "Did you just say Aiden? That bastard with glowing blue eyes and that is incredibly fast and strong?" 

I nodded slowly. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Great, haven't seen that idiot in a while. But he's strong, and not just physically. Don't tell me he dragged you into one of his games." 

"He did, what of it?" 

Her bright green eyes glowed like fire. "This is bad. It is very hard to survive one of his "games." Even the Guardians aren't successful in them. Only one person has been dragged into a game and survived." 

That got my attention. "Who?"

Calypso opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off. The voice rang out clear and loud. It echoed in the quiet of night and made my blood run cold enough to turn the snow to ice. "Alexandra Patterson. Very clever, very strong. But now she is trapped inside of you, a weakling who is neither and relies on her friends to do everything for her." I didn't have to see the speaker to know who it was. Bright blue eyes put shame to the stars as they hid on a thick branch of an aspen. 

"Aiden." I growled.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Calypso: great, we're up against this guy. Aridis, why did you have to drag me back here?

Aridis: Come'on, aren't you happy to be alive? 

Calypso: I popped out of a bloody flower. Couldn't you have though of something more, I don't know, BADASS? 

Aridis: Let me think about that....hmmmmmmmm. No

Calypso: Why you little-

Aridis: Calm down! Do you want to burn down a town or not?

Calypso:.....I'm listening

Sam: Seriously? 

Aridis: DO NOT QUESTION THE GREAT AND POWERFUL ARIDIS! Sorry guys, writers block has taken over my brain. I think its turning into an actual virus. Anywhooooooo, don't murder me if I don't meet the 1 chapter per week thing I'm trying to keep going. TILL NEXT WEEK! (hopefully)