This story will be a long work of progress since I'm working a lot, but I wanted to write a new story and introduce a new character, as well as explain some of Iugulare's origins and history...

I plan to open up character slots like before, maybe soon I'll announce it. Until then, feel free to track this post



Official Themesongs...because both are just so damn good XD





Also, for those who may be unfamiliar with my characters, here are the links to their biographies if you need them:

Quad - Hex - Zephyr
Iugulare, Anirapio, and Nekumbra - Noctuis

--------------------------------------------

Previously... (From Fall From Grace - Rise of the Supreme Talux)


The Goxi began to speak to Quad mentally, "I can't keep abusing you. I've...I've decided I must go."

"What are you talking about? You had your chance to go back to Venterm, but after all of that, we're going to Earth..."

"Quad...you really made me think about why we're fighting. And now knowing what I'm up against...I don't know if I can continue on my quest."

"If you want a chance at living a normal life, I'll give that to you...even if it means being in a relationship with you...I'll do it if it brings peace to the galaxy."

The Goxi was quiet at first, but finally said, "Thank you, Quad..."


---

The antelope blinked, "Wow, I was...we were gone that long?", he asked, "What...what did I miss?"

Kylar spoke up, "Not much really, Zephyr has been doing a fine job defending the Forest while you were gone. We had a few threats from Noctuis, but she took care of it.", he said.

Seed nodded, "Mhmm...you have raised a great daughter, she had truly been an outstanding Grand Talux."

Quad blinked at this, "My...my little girl...I'm so proud of her.", he smiled knowing this, but then sighed, "But...it means she has the curse as well..."

Toukan nodded slowly, "She came back to life, so that must mean she has your immortality. But who knows, maybe...maybe if she defeated Noctuis it would break it, just like if you--"

Quad quickly spoke up, "Listen, about that...", he began, "I've been thinking that, well..."

"Go on, Quad, spit it out already.", Kylar said.

The antelope closed his eyes, afraid of the response, but finally speaking, "Iugulare and I are...we're going to try to...to be...m-mates..."

The three there looked at one another, Seed speaking up, "Are you sure that is wise?"

"I know, it sounds insane, but...we've spoken, and I think we can sort out our differences, and maybe...bring some peace between us. If it will save the Forest, then..."

"You understand though...", Toukan spoke, "That if you do that, you...you may be living an eternity with her..."

Quad simply nodded here, though the reality of this was difficult on him. Seed finally said, "If it is your decision, so be it. Come, you should see the Twin Gods. I am sure they will want to speak with you."

---

Iugulare peeked past the pillars to see Quad laughing and nodding to Ma Mousse. The stoat's face contorted, she becoming agitated almost immediately as she listened.

"But what about the étranger, is she...?"
"She's here, but don't worry, we're safe. She won't be a problem any longer."

Iugulare jumped out and ran at Ma here. "You! Get away from him!", she snarled, as Ma nearly jumped, but held her ground, "Oh mon enfant, what is the matter? I was only parlant to Quad here...", she began, when Iugulare then snapped at Quad, "And you! How dare you cheat on me!"

"Ma, I think you should go, we'll talk again some other time.", Quad spoke as he stood between her and Iugulare. The motherly moose only nodded and spoke, "Jusque-là. Au revoir", before she left.

Quad and Iugulare were alone, an awkward silence as they looked at one another. As Iugulare began to speak, Quad said, "Listen. Don't talk, just listen."

The stoat closed her mouth and was silent.

"I have a lot of friends here, and I have every right to speak to them as I see fit. We have not even begun this relationship and you're already accusing me of cheating on you."

"But you were--", Iugulare began, when she started to realize that he was only speaking to Ma. She began to calm down, "I thought...you were..."

Another awkward silence. Quad exhaled. "Don't jump to conclusions next time. I want to make this work just as much as you do, and that means I would not threaten my friends and put them in danger by going behind your back. I am not that kind of stag, Iugulare. I have far too much honor to cheat on my mate, I mean...if...", he sighs, "If Mazey were here right now, she'd...she'd confirm that I never cheated on her."

Iugulare closed her eyes, and nodded slowly, "Then I am sorry. I will...do my best not to be jealous of you."

The antelope motioned with his head, "Come on, let's go meet some of the other deer. I am sure they would like to know you a bit better, I mean...more personally."

Iugulare slowly smiled and nodded, "Yes...that will be fine...", and with that, they left the Ruins side by side, Quad taking her to the more social areas where they could begin their relationship together.


---------------







It took a long time for her to arrive. Much longer than Iugulare or Noctuis. A large meteor was approaching the Earth, and soon reaching the atmosphere, it began to ignite and streak across the sky, a green flash that lit up much of the night sky. It wasn't large enough to decimate the planet, but inside...another viral creature slept in stasis.

The meteor fell, unguided, and hit the arctic with a splash that looked like an explosion. The space rock cooled as it sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and when she realized she had arrived, the Goxi inside broke open her shell. That cold water mixed with her infection, but she was comfortable. She snaked her way out of the meteorite and began to seek a host.

Nearby, a polar bear had approached, wondering what the explosion was. She was alone, roaring out to warn others to stay away while she investigated. The female dipped a paw into the frigid water - the worst choice she could have made, as at once the virus latched onto her arm and began to infect upward. The bear jerked back and tried to get the infection off, but it was moving quickly and in a jabbing motion, it stabbed into her heart. The bear gasped and roared painfully, her heart starting to feel colder and slower. She became dizzy, and losing her footing, she collapsed on the cold ice.

The virus entered in, covering her, white just like her fur so it was difficult to tell what was virus and what was just fur. But the bear was put into a slumber while the Goxi took over her body, and opening her eyes, she stood, adjusting to the body, and grinned.

She went back into the water, and swam down to where the meteorite landed. Breaking open one part of it, she retrieved something before emerging and shaking off the frigid water.

The infected bear stood once more, holding something in her paw, which she at once placed on her head.

A crown, that adjusted to fit perfectly on her head, and glowed a strange, beautiful turquoise glow. She was pleased, and began to head farther along the planet, seeking her first minions to infect...




The Endless Forest had been at peace for a long time, at least as far as the infectious war had been concerned. Quad took Iugulare away from the Forest for roughly a year, taking her on a tour of the Earth itself. They visited every continent, and he got to tell her all about the history of various countries, at least what he knew. The two were well protected, at any time they were threatened, Quad could fly away with Iugulare in his arms, and likewise, Iugulare could just infect the threat and nullify them.

One day, Quad and Iugulare stepped foot back into the Forest. He had never been happier to be home, and thankfully, the first deer his eyes caught notice on was an old friend. A caribou to be exact.

Toukan was standing with a horse named Decius, laughing and talking about various uses of mint. The horse just smiled and nodded his head. He couldn't speak, but was happy to listen. It seemed like Toukan needed someone to talk to today anyway.

It was Decius who spotted Quad and Iugulare approaching. His post-war experience left his senses very heightened, so he was easy to notice things like that. He turned his head and motioned to Toukan, who turned and gasped, "Quad! Long time no see!"

The antelope flashed a smile. He was happy at least someone remembered him, "Hey Toukan! It's been a while hasn't it?", he said, as Iugulare flashed a toothy grin herself, "Ah yes, the reindeer! I remember him well, the scars on his leg a beautiful reminder of--", but Quad nudged Iugulare, whispering, "Hey hey, don't bring that up!"

Toukan of course heard all of that, and so did Decius. But they just ignored it, "So how have you been? We haven't seen you here in...months.", he spoke, also looking over to Decius before back to Quad, "Oh and this is Decius. He doesn't really talk much...or at all for that matter, but he's a good friend."

Quad bowed his head to Decius before he looked back at Toukan. It was a certain look. Toukan could tell something had happened. "F-fine...it's been fine. We uhh...we went to all the different continents, even...even saw penguins on Antarctica. Isn't that right, Iug?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. The penguins. I infected a few of them. Research and all.", she said with a wink.

Decius thought that was strange, but again, the stoat was very strange herself. It was then that he had a good look at Quad. His fur was a bit scruffy, not exactly dirty but it was obvious he wasn't sleeping well. But what was strangest was the odd discoloration of the fur. Quad's back was always a deep, dark blue color, but now it was a shade of dark grey. His underbelly coat, normally a pristine white, seemed to have greyed as well. Toukan noticed the horse taking a good look at Quad, and when he looked himself, he blinked a few times.

"Are you okay? You look like you've aged a bit.", he finally said.

Quad's ears drooped a little. He quickly peeked down at Iugulare, then gave Toukan another look. "H-hey uhh, could we head to the pond? I'm really thirsty."

Iugulare peered up to him, and Quad peeked back down again, "Uhh w-would you...you mind keeping Decius company? I bet he'd like to know about those penguins." The stoat blinked, and looked over to the war horse, before speaking, "Oh alright, but I need some shade. It's too bright here."

Decius approached and gave a nod, leading Iugulare to the Old Oak, while the stoat was already speaking about penguins to him.

Toukan looked to Quad and repeated, "Quad? You okay?"

He gulped and cleared his throat, whispering, "Pond, please. No trees there."

Toukan blinked, and slowly nodded. He led Quad off to the Pond, the most 'out in the open' place in the Forest. It would be impossible for any of Iugulare's infected minions, be it birds or squirrels or the like, to listen in on their conversation without being exposed to direct sunlight.

They arrived at the Pond and Quad immediately dipped his snout into the cool water, taking deep gulps. Toukan just watched, now he had a good look at his fur, and saw that odd discoloration, the greyness of what was once blue-black, as well as the mottled, ruffled texture of his fur. Something wasn't right here.

"What has she been doing to you?", Toukan whispered to him.

Quad slowly raised his snout, and closing his eyes, he became emotional. "It's...", he began, tears forming in his eyes, "It's a...a living hell being her mate..."

Toukan approached, stopping to take a look around just to be sure they were alone, before he whispered, "Tell me."

Quad continued to sob as he spoke, "She's...she's never satisfied, p-perpetually angry...we always do everything during the night, so I...haven't gotten much sleep at all, can't get used to...sleeping during the day...and what...what little sleep I get are nightmares...and...", he took a look at his own pelt before continuing, "She's obsessed with...c-c-cuddling...".

The caribou nodded slowly. "You can't let this continue, Quad."

"I know...but I don't know where to turn. I haven't heard from the Twin Gods ever since I left, and--", he looked up to their hill, the statues gleaming in the sunlight.

Toukan nudged him toward the hill, "They're right there. Go talk to them. They've never been wrong before."

The antelope gulped and nodded, "R-right...I'll...I'll go talk to them...", and walking from the pond, he ascended the hill of the Twin Gods.

Toukan sighed. He didn't want to tell Quad the truth, what he really thought about all of this, and hoped the gods would be the ones to break the news to him. There was really only one way to get out of this situation, and deep down, Quad knew.

---------------

Far to the north, the atmosphere was getting colder, a thick cloudline formed that was moving its way south. Where the snow came from was unknown, as meteorologists were completely baffled by this sudden appearance of winter storms. Snow fell endlessly, and lightning struck the tallest spots, sending thunderous bursts that disrupted the silence of the land.

An owl glided his way toward the place. He barely dodged a lightning burst. It was close. He wondered if she did it on purpose or...

Soon he spotted them, the bear with the crown on her head, followed by a small entourage of infected minions. She had mostly come across wolves and foxes, as well as a snow leopard and several elk and caribou. At first it looked like they were following her blindly, but when she stopped, the infected raised their heads and whispered to one another, "The owl...it's one of them...another one.."

Noctuis glided down and landed on a fallen tree, just as the polar bear arrived at the spot. He bowed his head, "Tonivox, I'm surprised to see you here.

The bear stood on her hind legs, adjusting her crown and brushing a little snow from her shoulders, before she spoke to him, "How rude of you, Noctuis! You forget your manners! You are to address me as 'Queen'!"

Noctuis hesitated, and then said, "Very well, Queen Tonivox...what are you doing here? I have been taking care of Iugulare, and--", but he was interrupted as the polar bear grabbed his head with both paws and began to squeeze, "Oh my Noctuis, such a pity. I sent my finest general to get rid of the only threat we have, and you can't even do that. Venterm has been claimed by the Northern Goxi, and all that is left is to eliminate Iugulare before she can amass some form of military against us. Such a pity, I will miss our conversations. You always were such an interesting one..."

Noctuis could only struggle as the bear now gripped him with one paw and formed her other one into something much like a spear made of infection. The owl cried, "Wait! My Queen I beg you! I've nearly got her, just give me more t--grrrkk!!", his pleas were silenced when the Queen's spear-like paw stabbed into him, straight through the heart of the owl host he had infected. However, there was much more to this than just killing his host creature, for Tonivox's virus was much stronger than Noctuis', and began to destroy the owl's body little by little. Noctuis writhed in agony as his body ripped itself apart, and the infection just deteriorated and hit the snow as blobs of fizzing virus. As all of what was left of Noctuis dropped off, the owl that he had infected was long dead and nothing more than a skeleton that Tonivox simply dropped.

She left the blob there, not saying another word but walking to the closest minion of hers - one of the foxes - and gave him a kiss on the head. The fox instantly cooed as his body felt the most warmth it had since he was infected, and the bear whispered something in his ear. He reluctantly nodded, and approaching the blob of fizzing infection, he sat and watched over it. Tonivox smiled, "Good boy. You will know where to find us once he is fully dissolved. The rest of my servants, we are moving out now!", and she led the way from which Noctuis had come from, her minions following behind.




A few days had passed, and every day the deer took a look up at the Twin Gods' hill. And there they saw the same sight - a blackbuck antelope praying. A few were walking by early on the fourth morning. Nimh stopped and looked over, before asking one of the deer passing by, "Excuse me, sir, do you know who that is?", motioning toward Quad.

Daryl looked toward the hill, before looking back at the fawn, "That antelope? He was the one the Twin Gods exiled some time ago. There was a creature from the stars he was supposed to destroy, but instead he befriended and...mated with it.", the bull spoke, looking back up to him before back down to the fawn, "It's best to ignore him, we wouldn't want to be exiled ourselves for associating with him."

Nimh nodded slowly, but looked back to the antelope. "So sad...", as she and Daryl went on their separate ways.

Quad prayed for hours, his ears listening for a response. The only sounds he heard were the songs of a pair of cardinals, and the normal Forest noises. He would only go off to get a drink of water or a few mushrooms before he returned to his prayer. "Please....please...", he whispered.

On the fifth morning, Nika was walking to the Pond when she saw Quad praying there. She blinked a few times, observing him - his messy fur, the discoloration of his body, and apparent weight loss. The doe approached and bowed to him. "Good morning, Quad.", she spoke kindly.

The antelope opened his eyes and peeked up at the Gods' statues, thinking one of them had finally spoke to him, but then turned to see Nika there, "O-oh, hello there, Nika. I...I thought you were...n-nevermind...how are you?", the antelope stammered.

The doe chuckled, "Relax, Quad. Take a deep breath. No need to be nervous around me.", she spoke. The antelope smiled a little and took that breath. "I am doing well, but I worry about you. You look hungry and tired. Why are you putting so much time into prayer?", she asked.

Quad's smile faded, and he sighed, "I...I need their help, but they're not responding. I don't know where to turn now..."

The doe motioned to the Pond, "Come, let's sit at the Pond." Quad nodded slowly and followed her.

Nika sat in the water, where Quad had to get another drink. She watched him, he took long, deep gulps, as if he hadn't had water in ages. When he was finished, he sat opposite of her in the water.

"The Gods wanted you to do something, Quad. What was it?", she asked.

He grimaced, before saying, "Iugulare...I was supposed to kill Iugulare..."

Nika nodded, "And if you aren't in their favor, it means you haven't done that. May I ask why?"

The antelope cleared his throat, "Well I...I err...ermmm..."

"Deep breath, Quad.", Nika calmly interrupted.

He hesitated before taking a long inhale, exhaling slowly, then continued, "I'm afraid..."

The doe tilted her head, "Afraid of what, dear?"

"Facing her...facing Iugulare...it'll lead to pain, and...", he shut his eyes, "My...my real death...I know when she dies, I'll die and never come back."

"Quad, look at me.", Nika instructed. He opened his eyes and looked into hers. "You're suffering far too much, you don't deserve this. I can tell, the life you're living right now must be torture."

The antelope tried to hold back his tears, but they formed and soaked his cheeks. He nodded slowly.

"You know what you have to do."

He nodded again. "I thought...taking her away for a while...so she couldn't hurt anyone here, would be the answer, but..."

His words were interrupted when Toukan came to the Pond. "Quad! We've got a problem and need you!", he called.

The antelope perked up, and asked, "Iugulare?"

Toukan shook his head, "Anja just returned to the Forest, and brought another infection, a white one."

Quad blinked, "That sounds like...Noctuis!", he turned to Nika, "I need to--", but she motioned toward Toukan and smiled. The antelope hesitantly smiled back and nodded, before bowing and running up the hill, "Take me to where Anja is, Touk."

---------------

A crowd had already gathered by the time Quad and Toukan made it. He saw Blixt and instantly went over to him, "Where is she, Blixt?"

His masked brother motioned to where the crowd was, "Over there. Another infection, it doesn't look like any of the ones we know. Be careful, Quad.", he spoke. The antelope nodded, and Blixt held back with Toukan while Quad pushed through the crowd.

"Would someone get this goop off of me already? It's probably ruining my fur by now!", Anja called in the center. The deer who saw Quad was there gave him room to pass through, and finally he got a view of her, not to mention a good whiff of that unmistakable infection smell.

Anja was laying on the ground, her belly covered with the white infection. It was easy to tell what was infection and what was her fur by the sheen the virus had. Quad approached, his four wings growing from his back and his light burst charging. "Alright, hold still, Anja, I'm going to burn it off of you. You'll want to cover your eyes too."

The doe shut her eyes but spoke, "It's about time! I just went to the north to gather some evergreen pinecones and before I realized it, this...thing latched onto me!"

The Grand Talux nodded and spoke, "I'll ask you the details in a moment, right now let's get that off of--", but before he could finish, the infection itself spoke, "Wait! Just wait! I need to speak to Iugulare!"

The antelope blinked, his charge disappearing, before he asked, "Noctuis?"

"Yes, YES! It is I! And I have news from the stars! Now where is--", he was interrupted by Anja screaming, "Enough already! Get it off of me NOW!"

Quad looked about, "H-hang on...", and flapping his wings, he flew off for a moment. The antelope returned with a bunny in his mouth, landing and setting her on the ground. "Are you sure you're okay with this? It may be a while before you're back to reality.", he asked. The little bunny nodded, and hopping over to Anja, she hesitantly pressed her face onto the white infection.

Almost instantly, the virus transferred, covering the bunny up as it left Anja. The bunny squirmed and twitched as her body was engulfed by the infection, and soon she sat up, blinking several times, before looking about, "Really? Of all the forms you could have picked, it was this one? There weren't any flying hosts?", Noctuis asked in disappointment.

Quad looked down to him, "I haven't seen many owls around here. It was the first thing I found...", he looked back up to Anja, "Are you okay, Anja?"

The doe hopped to her hooves and stretched, "Belly is numb but otherwise fine. Now if you excuse me, I have things to do.", she shook her legs out and made her way from the crowd. She didn't give Quad a 'thank you', but just seeing her up and fine was all he needed.

He looked back to Noctuis, who was still trying to figure out this new body, and asked, "Now, why are you here? Why do you need Iugulare?"

The infected bunny looked up and exhaled, "I know we are not on good terms, but I need your help, and Iugulare's too. Another Goxi has come, perhaps...the strongest of all Goxi...our queen..."

Iugulare had just arrived to see what was going on when she heard this. The stoat didn't recognize Noctuis at first, but spoke, "Tonivox? She is here?"

Noctuis looked over and nodded, "Our queen has come! All of Venterm has given in to her. Iugulare...", he hesitated, "The war is over...the Southern Goxi have lost to her. White infection dominates our home now."

Quad blinked several times and looked to Iugulare, "You were going through a war? You never told me about this."

The stoat sighed, "I didn't want you to know. I thought...if I could gather enough forces to return, maybe the Southern Goxi, the black infection, could defend themselves. Quad you gotta understand that the Southern Goxi aren't soldiers like the Northern ones are. My kind were peaceful, scientists, philosophers...", but Noctuis cleared his throat.

"Iugulare, there's something else you need to know.", he began, "Did you ever wonder why you were so different from the other Southern Goxi? Why you were much angrier, had bigger ambitions?"

Iugulare shook her head, "Why...?"

The bunny virus smiled, "Because, Iugulare. You aren't a natural born Southern Goxi. My side created you to infiltrate and gather information. You are a hybrid of both our sides."

The stoat was in disbelief, "No...you're lying! I don't believe you!", she began to scream.

Noctuis sneered, "But don't you see? You aren't purely Northern or Southern, but a unison of both. You, Iugulare, are perfection! You should be the rightful ruler of Venterm, to unite both North and South into one perfect world of Goxi!"

Iugulare glared back at him, "Why are you telling me this? Why?"

The bunny's smile faded, and he finally said, "Because I was sent to kill you by Tonivox herself, and now I am exiled just as you are. You understand that if she comes here, and she successfully destroys you and Quad, this world will not have a chance for survival.", he looks up to Quad here, "I have no queen, and thus no more reason to fight you. Let me help you stop her."

The antelope hesitated, but slowly nodded, but turned to Iugulare, "I want to talk to you...in private."

The stoat glared up to him, then back to Noctuis, "Yes...I suppose I have some explaining to do." She went off with him, as the crowd dispersed.



They went to the Playground, and after Quad looked about to make sure they were alone, he glared at Iugulare, "Now tell me everything."

The stoat exhaled and then began, "When I was on Venterm, I lived in the Southern hemisphere of the planet. It points to our star, which...thankfully, was a low luminosity star. The Southern Goxi absorbed more radiation than the Northern ones, so our virus became darker. It parallels your Equator here on Earth. The Southern Goxi were able to use the solar energy to power both mechanical and mystic devices. And the Northern Goxi, on the dark side of the planet, envied our energy source. So they became hostile, militant...and invaded."

The antelope blinked a few times, then nodded slowly. She continued. "Tonivox declared herself the Queen of all Goxi, and we revolted. So the Northern Goxi attacked, and the war had begun. I left Venterm to find soldiers to fight for us, and..."

Quad stopped her. "You...were going to send us all to fight? What if...?", he began. Iugulare nodded slowly, "Yes, I know. There were going to be casualties. But if we were successful in winning the war, we would have done wonders for the Earthlings. We would have destroyed several of the viruses plaguing your kind, made your life expectancy much longer...who knows what else."

The antelope turned, sighing, "I...no, this is wrong. It's not our fight. You can't just involve us in your war like that. It's not fair for us..."

Iugulare grimaced, "Don't you get it? It would be a few casualties to better both of our planets. We just have to get rid of Tonivox and--", but Quad shook his head, "We'll have to talk this over with some of the others, l-like the Twin Gods, the world leaders...I don't think a decision this big can just be...decided for us."

The Goxi hesitated, but nodded, "Okay, I agree. It was wrong of me to just...choose for this planet...", she thought a moment, "Wait...if you were to defeat Tonivox, then...we can prevent the invasion!"

Quad blinked once more. "Invasion?"

Iugulare stared at him sternly, "Quad, why do you think she's here? Venterm...all of Venterm is under her control. And she's coming to wipe out the remaining Southern Goxi...me. And all the hosts I've infected..."

The antelope's eyes widened, "Oh my twin gods..." He closed his eyes and exhaled, "It...it is up to me then.", he turned to leave.

"Quad, please. Be careful. You have to protect your heart!", she began, "Every Goxi is different. Noctuis and I infect the brain. Some Goxi go after the lungs, the liver, and so on. Tonivox...if she gets your heart, you may forget everything you love and be forced to love her."

Quad shook his head, "That wouldn't happen. I would never love a Goxi.", but then realizing what he just said, he cleared his throat, "I-I mean...h-her. I'd never love her."

Iugulare nodded, but Quad could tell...he shouldn't have said that. He left the Playground and heading to the Ruins, he noticed a few familiar faces there - Blixt, his brother, and Zephyr, his daughter. They were waiting for him to arrive, and Quad was surprised to see them there. "Hey guys..."

"'Hey?' You've been gone all this time and all you have to say is 'Hey'? Dad, what is wrong with you?", Zephyr snapped at him. Blixt nudged her and then looked to Quad, "It's good to see you, Quad. I'm glad Iugulare hasn't permanently damaged your brain. I know what the virus does..."

The antelope grimaced, "N-no no, she didn't do any damage. Look guys, I...I'm going to have to go again. We have a new problem and--", but the two looked to one another and then Blixt spoke, "Whatever it is, we're going with you."

Quad shook his head, "I'm not going to endanger either of you. You're better off staying here."

Zephyr smiled, "Dad, I'm going with you. You're not leaving my sight, teehee!"

Quad was going to continue to disagree but Blixt chuckles, "We're not exactly giving you an option this time. And besides, we were waiting for you for a reason.", he looked off in the distance, where a gleaming light was shining. It was an unnatural light, and when Quad looked, he asked, "What is that?"

"That...is the Twin Gods calling you."




The trio went over to the hill, where something bizarre was going on. A swirling vortex, a bitter cold...the antelope looked back to his family before looking to the Twin Gods' hill. On top of their idols were a male and female cardinal, who flew down before transforming into the gods themselves. Blixt and Zephyr immediately bowed, Quad was shocked to see them and just stood there.

"Hello Quad, it's been a long time.", Auriea spoke first. He finally bowed, but spoke, "Michael, Auriea, I...why didn't you--"

Michael cleared his throat, "We were there. We've heard everything, and are ready to transport you to face the new threat of our world." It seemed the cardinals had followed him and listened in on the conversations he had.

Quad closed his eyes while he still bowed, "I...I see...w-well...", he finally looked to them, "I...we're ready..."

The gods looked to one another before back to Zephyr and Blixt, "Please understand that this will be dangerous. There's no guaranteeing of your safe return.", Auriea stated.

Blixt nodded, "We are well aware. But we're not letting Quad go on his own again." Zephyr nodded as well, "We're going to take real good care of him!"

The gods nodded, then back to Quad, "Well then, it is time. Be warned, she has already gained a small army. You will need to use all your powers to fight them.", Auriea spoke.

Quad smiled, "I will.", he looked back and nodded to Blixt and Zephyr before looking back to the gods, "And umm...I'm sorry about...you know..."

Michael bowed his head, "No apology needed, Quad. We still have faith in you."

The three looked to the portal, and taking a deep breath, Quad stepped in first. His hoof went into snow, and a blast of frigid air hit his face. Blixt and Zephyr were right behind, though Zephyr slipped on the snow and landed on her belly, "Gah! Cold!", she shrieked.

Blixt helped her up and Quad scouted ahead, taking a breath that lingered in the air. He could smell it. Infection, it was close. He took another sniff of the air and got the direction, "This way."

Blixt and Zephyr hung close, and they went off in the direction he had went. The cold air blasted their faces, and Zephyr shuddered, "Why is it so cold here? Isn't it summer?", she questioned.

Blixt exhaled a heated breath, "This shouldn't be winter. The trees, see? Frozen blooms.", he took a look at it, the trees in the area had summer flowers that were frozen solid. "This happened quickly, a flash freeze. Someone's controlling the snow."

"Shh...I think they're close.", Quad spoke, and they got low and crept up a hill. They took a peek over the ridge and saw a wolf pack. It was here they heard their whispers, the adults were protecting several pups. The antelope looked back and said, "There should be more of them. I wonder..."

"Where the rest of our pack went?", someone spoke.

Zephyr jumped and screamed. Blixt quickly stood ahead of them, antlers lowered. The wolf was quick to find them, and crept up on them too easily. He was a scout.

"Guys, wait!", Quad spoke, and approached. The other wolves knew they were there now, and they had approached up the hill, save for the young ones and a single female who stayed behind. "Well well well, I suppose we have supper before the rest of the clan returns. It's only fitting since you're on our territory."

Zephyr was shaking, both in fear and cold, and taking steps back. Blixt was huffing, the warrior ready to take them on. Quad quickly stood between them, "Listen! We're not here to intrude! We're here to help fight a common enemy!" The wolves snarled, and continued to approach them.

He had no choice. Quad's body illuminated. His wings spread, and he became the Grand Talux, standing between his family and the wolves. They instantly yelped and shielded their eyes. The antelope spoke, "Now...would you listen? We've got a problem all of us can take care of."