FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Jason had never felt so alone. So completely alone. He felt as if his heart had been torn out and it might as well have been. He had watched his best friend and love get murdered in front of him for reasons he didn't understand. This new world he was in... he hated it, deplored it for what it had done to him, his friends, Henry. He wanted nothing more than to wish it all away, the pain and the memories alike. He wished that none of it had ever happened.

After being dragged away screaming, the fat pig had thrown Jason into a cage. It was an old cage with bits of red here and there which Jason couldn't tell if it was rust or blood, maybe even feces; most likely a combination. The cage was just barely large enough for Jason to sit awkwardly in with his back hunched over and his knees pulled up to his chest. He didn't really mind at the time, he figured that if he was put in something larger, he still would have gone into a fetal like position as he sulked.

Jason's cage was stacked atop of several other ones and those were haphazardly stacked in the back of a rickety old cart that the slavers had waiting on a dirt path that was located only a dozen meters away from where Jason, Henry, Crystal and Martin had set up camp. It had actually just been by chance that they had been seen by the passing slavers who were traveling from city to city, selling their catch which had now nearly doubled in price.

"Now you just sit tight and look pretty." The pig snorted at Jason as he fixed the jugged iron lock into place on the side of the cage. "You not worth anything dead so don't try anything that might force me to damage the merchandise." Jason didn't look up, but he heard the sound of popping knuckles and a laugh as the pig walked away.

He wanted to get out and kill the pig so much. Jason had spent so much time trying to make Henry's life in high school bearable. When he found him, beaten and bloody one Monday morning, at the feet of the people he thought were his friends, Jason had to step in.

--

"Do you even lift!" Markuss Stenum, a large Irish boy with a full head of red curly hair and was known as the Red Devil on the football team for his ability to break through the line of scrimmage and sack the opposing teams quarterback, stood over a crumpled figure that he had just decked in the face.

"Get up." One of Markuss Stenum's lackeys, Casey Laughley, the backup quarterback and one of the worst players of the team grabbed the form by the arm and drug him up with no effort. Compared to the group of muscled bound jocks surrounding him, the figure was horribly out of proportion. "How can we have fun if you don't even try?" He shoved Henry who fell onto his rear without making a sound. He was too tired and too hurt to even elicit any kind of response.

Markuss walked over to Henry, towering over him and making sure to step on the books that had been dropped when the first punch had been thrown.

Henry, a weak and often sickly child who had grown up under a over protective mother who sheltered him by homeschooling him until junior high looked up through black, swollen eyes. He had no idea why he was being targeted, he didn't know that he had just been selected randomly from a sea of hundreds of faces at school to be a vent for the jocks anger at the recent loss to Jefferson High. He just looked up, expecting more.

"You idiots." A voice called out. All heads turned as the quarterback, Jason, ran up to the group. "You're going to kill him." He saw the group a few minutes prior behind the school where they often hung out before heading out to the bar, but when he had to come back to the school to pick up a few books he had forgotten and saw that they were still there, he had to investigate. He had never expected to see them wailing on one of the newest students.

"C'mon Jason." Markuss shrugged. "Just having a bit of fun." He chuckled and nudged Henry with the toe of his shoe.

"Get out of here, Stenum." Jason pointed towards their cars. "Before I call the authorities."

Markuss looked between the cars, Jason and Henry. He thought about throwing a punch, he hated it when he was called by his last name. Though, the coach and damn well everyone else would hate him for hurting the star quarterback who had only just returned from a slight knee injury.

"Let's go." Markuss left with his group in toe. They piled into their cars, a combination of trucks that were too big or sports cars that were too expensive for the students to have.

Only when they were out of sight did Jason turn towards Henry. He didn't know Henry at the time, he had only seen him a few times in the halls since the Junior schedule was different than that of the Junior High schedule. He only noticed him because he was a new face in a building that he had been going to his entire life. He noticed even the smallest changes.

"You all right." Jason knelt down trying to figure out how to help him. He didn't know the extent of his injuries and was afraid that moving him would hurt him even more.

Henry looked up at him and coughed up a bit of blood.

"Of course you're not alright." Jason wiped away some of the blood with the sleeve of his shirt. "Stupid question."

Henry was doing all he could to not pass out as Jason did what he could to stop the bleeding from the small cuts that littered his face. "Thanks." He sputtered out.

"No problem." Jason replied, happy to see that he was well enough to speak. "I don't know why they would go this far." Jason noticed some blood coming from under Henry's shirt which was had the Superman logo on it.

Jason reached, thinking only about making sure there was no serious injury and pulled up the shirt and pressed his hand up against Henry's abdomen.

Henry squirmed a bit under the unfamiliar touch.

"Does it hurt?" Jason said, pulling his hand away quickly. The blood was just from Henry's bloody nose, there was no cuts or signs of bleeding anywhere, but from the face.

Henry blushed a bit, the reddening hidden under dried blood. "No." He said quietly, trying to think up an excuse. "You're hands are cold."

Jason pressed his hands up against his cheeks to test the claim. They were a bit cold since it was getting to be late autumn. "I guess they are." He smiled. "Can you get up?"

Henry nodded and began to turn, slowly, so he could push himself off of the ground. A pair of hands grabbed him from under the arms and lifted him up onto his feet. When he put onto his feet and his legs came to bear his full weight, the blood rushed out of his head and he began to collapse.

Jason still had a hold of him and kept him up. "Maybe not." He said. "Let me help." Without asking any permission he lifted Henry off of his feet and began to carry him.

Henry just let it happen as he was suddenly engulfed in warmth from Jason's coat. He felt safe, suddenly in the arms of a stranger who had saved him.

Jason brought Henry back to the school and to the nurse's office, catching the bubbly old lady just as she was locking up. She didn't think twice to reopen the nurse's office and have the boy set down as she sent Jason to get the principal.

It wasn't long before Henry's parents were there along with the police and a warrant was made for the arrest of Markuss.

Henry sat in the nurse's office as a paramedic looked him over, shining a light into his eyes to check for a concussion. He didn't pay them any mind, the entire time he was looking at Jason who never left the room, always there making sure he was okay even when there was no chance of him being hurt more.

--

Jason sighed at the memory. He had made it his goal, even after he had graduated high school to watch over Henry. He knew that people grew suspicious when he started giving Henry lifts from school back to his house, when they were seen hanging out in public together. The questions were never asked long since he had been the star player.

At first their relationship had just been a good friendship. Henry had found comfort with him after he had saved him from the jocks and Jason just didn't want to see the little guy hurt again, but now none of that mattered.

"Quit moping." A slaver, the feline with half of its tail missing said nonchalantly as he lounged in the back of the cart, making sure none of the cages fell out on the bumpy road. "People die." He bit into an apple. "All the time."

Jason didn't respond, he could only glare at the cat.

"At least your other friends got away."

"They did?" Jason asked, remembering that the pig had said that they were caught.

"You don't see them here, do you?" The cat said and pointed at all of the empty cages, none of which had any other humans in them.

Jason looked around, there was an interesting assortment of species from felines, much like the guard that was finishing up his apple, to things he had never seen before. There was some sort of creature, a mix of maybe a wolf and some lizard with a canine like body, but with scales plated along its body.

"Slippery bunch they were." The cat chuckled. "At least when the ground is slippery. Gers slipped and twisted his ankle right before we could catch them, had to give up the chase."

"Why are you telling me this." Jason asked.

The cat looked at Jason and appeared somewhat mournful. "Slavery here is..." The cat stopped the think of the right words. "Let's say it's not going to be pleasant for you." He rubbed at a patch of graying fur on his neck. "It's wasn't for me."

Jason was taken aback. How could a former slave become a slaver.

The cat seemed distant for a moment before coming back to reality, moving his hand away from the gray patch. "Take whatever hope you have and never cast it out because if you cast out what hope you have now, you'll never get it back." The cat got up, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation and stepped out of the cart. He could watch from outside.

Jason was left in silence after that. The other slaves didn't bother talking, everyone was too afraid of what was to come.

"Wake up."

It wasn't more than a whisper that woke up Jason, but a fleeting voice on the wind.

Jason woke up with every single one of his joints in pain from being bent in such an uncomfortable position for so long. He tried to stretch, but the confines of the cage kept him from stretching much more than a few inches in any direction.

It was dark out and the cart had stopped moving. The slavers had stopped for the night had were all asleep, circled around the dying campfire and Jason thought about going back to sleep himself since sleep helped pass the time.

"Now don't go off and do that just yet." The voice hummed with confidence. "You have something I need and I have something you need."

Jason looked around for the source of the voice, but everyone else was still asleep and yet it seemed that it was coming from right in front of him.

"Where are you?" Jason asked and he heard an amused laugh that sent a shiver down his spine.

"I'm in you." The voice replied. "Somehow I managed to get stuck in the body of a human mortal." It sounded disgusted. "Of all the places to be..."

"I don't understand." Jason was still waking up and wasn't convinced.

"You don't need to in order to get what you want."

"And what do I want?"

"Revenge." The voice growled out the word, sounding out each syllable slowly. "Henry is dead and the culprits are right here." Jason couldn't help but look at the sleeping slavers.

"They're at their most vulnerable. Weak and defenseless like Henry was and yet they still killed him."

The image of Henry being stabbed in the gut came up and Jason felt queasy. He held his stomach and held back a retch.

"How ironic it would be to put them in the same position of helplessness."

More images came to mind, except instead of Henry it was images of the slavers, dead. As much as he believed that he should have been repulsed by the thought of killing, it was oddly alluring.

"I can give that to you." The voice seemed to swap between ears. "Just let me in further, I'll let you have your revenge."

--

"You can't just go rushing off." Yuri positioned himself between the way the slavers went and the angel, wondering if that was a mistake. "I bet all of heaven is looking for you."

"It's not everyday that an Angel disappears in an explosion just to rise from a dead body." Molus added.

Antes looked at them, gripping his sword tightly. He wasn't about to strike down to mortals for getting in his way, not for this, but every part of him wanted to go after the slavers and rescue Jason. It was the part of Henry that cared for Jason that was pushing him, he knew this much.

Sharing a body between souls wasn't as uncommon as some people thought it was, it was merely difficult to do and rarely perfect with parts and personalities of the two souls bleeding into each other.

"We all need to head back before we're noticed out here." Molus said and took a step closer the Angel who appeared absolutely terrifying in his full battle armor. "I'm sure that Thedius and the other Angels will want to hear from you."

"It is my duty to protect the mortal realm." Antes said, spouting out his oath that all knew too well. Angels weren't known to be quiet, always vowing justice and protection. "If I can save him, then I must." He began to move forward. Every second spent here was another mile that the slavers got away from him.

"Think rationally." Yuri pleaded, having to crane his neck just to give the appearance that he could actually look the angel in the eye. "If you go off now, they may kill him or you may get him killed. Let's head back and think this through before anyone does something we will all regret." He looked at the menacing blade that Antes carrier, the tip was serrated and could easily cut the ferret in half.

Antes put the blade away, strapping it across his back, between his shoulder blades and wings. "Fine." He said grudgingly. "I'll go."

Both Molus and Yuri relaxed.

"I can get us both back the fastest." Antes said and spread out his wings. "Try not to vomit."

"What do you mean by-"

Molus was cut off as light radiated off of the angel in an orb that grew quickly, enveloping the three. Molus then felt as if he was suddenly thrown by something as the angel cast a teleportation spell.

The light faded as fast as it appeared and as Molus' eyes adjusted, the forest was replaced with the familiar sight of the the salt flats. The hot sun beated down on him as a series of convulsions hit him.

"It will pass." Antes fell to a knee, looking extremely drained from the spell.

"You alright there?" Yuri asked between retches. The ferret seemed to be taking a little better than the Templar as he quickly recovered and wiped away a string of spit from his lips. "Teleportation spells are very draining especially when moving more than yourself."

Antes waved a hand. "I'm good." He slowly got back up and steadied himself. "This body isn't as attuned to magic as I had previously thought." He looked around at the desolate landscape.

"We must still be miles from the camp." Molus blocked out the sun with a hand as he scanned the surroundings. He couldn't see any sign of civilization of any kind. "Yuri, can you get us back the rest of the way?"

"I'm pretty drained myself." Yuri commented.

"No need." Antes said. "If others are looking for me then someone would have noticed the teleportation spell." He looked up at the cloudless sky. "It won't be long now."

It wasn't long. It was only a few minutes before their first visitor arrived.

It started out as a small blip in the distance, barely visible at first, but it soon developed into a recognizable sight of an angel in flight. The unflapping wings which were smaller than Antes' own carrying a small form across the sky at a blistering speed. Neither Yuri nor Molus had seen something travel so fast before.

The angel, dressed in yellow and white robes slowed as it got close enough to readily inspect the three figures on the ground. It descended, slowly bringing its wings in, folding them up until it landed gracefully, not even disturbing the dust around him.

"I recognized the magic as Antes and yet I see a fellow angel that I cannot recall." The angel spoke through a mask that only reveal vibrant blue eyes that looked as if they could see through solid stone. "Explain."

"It is I." Antes stepped forward with a hand, palm open, across his chest. "My original body was destroyed and my soul was brought to this one." His armor faded away into thin air, revealing Henry's body.

"How do I know that you aren't some imposter." The angel asked, his hand on the hilt of a dagger that was on his chest strap. "The demons have gotten crafty in recent years."

"Hmm." Antes crossed his arms. "Well, who was it that convinced you to get rid of that ridiculous hat of yours and those ridiculous little lightning bolts?"

The angel took a step back. "They were not ridiculous." He reached up and touched the hood that had replaced his old hat. "It wasn't practical. It would always come off when I flew." He shook his head. "However, many know about that."

"Yes, but..." Antes said. "I know that you kept them and that under those robes, you're still wearing those damn shoes."

"I do not." The angel took yet another step back, taking care to make sure that no one could see that he was in fact wearing a pair of winged sandals. "I... I... I concede." He sighed and his shoulders dropped, but only for a moment. "It's good to see that you live, Antes."

"It's good to see you as well, Hermes." Antes smiled and clasped hand with Hermes. "Even if i just saw you a few days ago."

"It's not everyday that you blow up."

"No it is not." Antes let his grip go. "We need a lift back to the Templar base and then I imagine that the council will want to speak with me."

"Of course." Hermes replied joyously. "Cormac will be glad to hear from you and I know that many others will be interested in what you learned."

"I will share what i can, but first." He stretched his arms out. "I need rest and I saw a few nice beds at the camps."

Hermes cracked his knuckles. "I haven't done one of these spells in some time, so bear with me."

"Here we go again." Molus said as the familiar light began to radiate from Hermes.

--

Warmth... Henry felt warmth which replaced the cold he had felt in what he was convinced to be his dying moments. It surrounded him and he relished in it, it was so familiar. It was like the time when Jason had lifted him off his legs all of those years ago. It wasn't that though, he knew better than to think that Jason was there at the moment since his last memories were of him being dragged off.

"Good to see you come back to the light." A voice, the one that had spurred him into action spoke to him. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come back from the brink."

"I was dead." Henry spoke and opened his eyes. He was in what appeared to be a white room, an endless white room that went on forever.

"You were, but i brought you back." A figure suddenly appeared, it looked like a dog on two feet though it wore armor that made Henry think of the opening scene of the Lord of the Rings.

"So this isn't heaven?"

"No, but you are closer than any other mortal." The dog said and began to walk closer. Henry wasn't afraid of it, he felt as if he should trust it.

"And Jason?" Even though Henry had many other questions, he had to know about Jason, whether or not this figure knew about him.

"I believe him to be alive, but out of our reach." The figure said with some regret in his voice. "The situation made it impossible to rescue him from the slavers without making it more complicated."

"Oh." Henry looked down as noticed human toes. He wiggled them and they responded. He was naked actually and for a moment felt as if he should cover up.

"You will find that I will not judge and no one that will can see you here." The figure said without any change in the tone of his voice. "If it bothers you, you will find that merely concentrating on clothing will fix it."

Henry took note of that and concentrated on an image of the clothes he was wearing last and then without notice he was in them. He could feel the fabric on his skin, but it was all surreal. "This place, it's not real is it?"

"Yes and no." The figure shrugged and looked around, focusing on a section of the white that Henry hadn't noticed before. "It's affected by the physical world." He was looking at a dark spot amongst the white where there was a faint crease of a crack. "We're in your mind."

"If this is my mind, then who are you?"

"I am the being who now shares your body with you." The figure, now right in front of the boy, looked down at him. "I am Antes, a warrior of heaven, an Angel as you would call me."

The look on Henry's face was more than enough for Antes to decipher what he was thinking and all of the questions that were ready to burst forth.

"All will be answered in due time, but I think it would be good for you to get up and explore a bit." He knelt down next to him and spoke right into his ear. "It's time to wake up.