**The Phantom Assassin**

[The Jolly Victini]

S.M. held out a regecting hand. "Keep it. Like I said, you have some of my trust. You are now officially a guard in training. You get to choose your weapon. That..." S.M. stopped to give one of his spike clamps a flick, resulting in a ting sound, "and I know the importance of a family heirloom."  

[Fenrir Shade]

"Thank you King Macafee. You are truly a better man than I shall ever be." replied Fenrir, twirling the dagger in his hand, gripping the hilt and thrust it into a sheathe at his side. "May I transfer some of my personal belongings here from my previous home? There are not many. Only a few books, and my Grandfather's Armor."  

[The Jolly Victini]

"Yes. But you will be going with Fenikkusu." S.M. commanded.  

[X_HeartofRoses_X]

Frost's eyes narrowed, her fists clenching as she struggled to keep herself from ripping Fenrir's throat out. She bared her teeth, giving a low growl of anger. Her eyes looked as if they had been set ablaze.  

[Fenrir Shade]

"I understand. Thank you. When shall we be departing?" asks Fenrir, cracking his joints to relieve them of stiffness. "And may I request the name of my Parole Officer?"

Upon noticing Frost's expression, Fenrir shifted uncomfortably. He had never seen someone so fierce and determined to end his life. Sudden regret gripped his soul as he realized that his own stupidity of becoming complacent in his sources to not take the most basic of precautions to assure the information he received was correct, was to blame for this. He was the cause of her distress, and nothing he could do or say at the moment could change it. Suddenly, a spot on the floor between his shoes became very interesting. Fenrir couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze. This was the first he had ever experienced such regret for something he took as an everyday occurrence.

'Have I truly become this heartless? Changes must be made, this I promise to myself.'

Suddenly, the realization of the fact that he could not move his arm reminded him that it was broken, and needed mending. This led him to ask one more question: "May I please leave this cell? I must regain my energy, and use the shadows to help mend my arm."  

[X_HeartofRoses_X]

Frost's tail lashed, her pupils narrowed to slits. 'Just one hit...I only need one hit...' She thought, her claws extending, her fur standing on edge. The usual calm and kind queen had turned into a resemblace of a wild animal. One with a thirst for blood.

Angel appeared beside Frost, whispering soothing words into the angered queen's ear. Frost calmed and began to cry, and then Angel picked her up like a child, glaring at Fenrir. "You are not welcome on my island...." She then vanished with the distressed queen.  

[Ryuzki Hygaea]

"I am your parole officer." Said a voice from the shadows. Spyke emerges walking towards Fenrir. "I am the Royal guard captain and Guardian of Angel Island...plus the queen's big brother Spyke." He glares at Fenrir. "You will obey every command or well you get the idea."  

[Fenrir Shade]

Fenrir's body subconsciously began fading into self-made shadows, searching for comfort the only way he knew how. 'What am I to do to gain the trust of the Queen? I fear I may never obtain any favor from her with how bad I have offended her.' His mind began spiraling into deeper and deeper thought, brooding over these new emotions. He knew in the back of his mind that he needed to come up for air, or else he'd drown in his own thoughts. He glanced up, and saw the look in Swift's eyes through a mist, and he suddenly realized that his body was slowly attempting to adapt to shadows that weren't there, creating an odd haze look about his body. He forced himself to return to the normal spectrum, causing him to collapse to his knees, rasping for breath. His vision blurred, and faded to black.

The only thing saving Fenrir from unconsciousness was the new voice coming from above him. His mind wanted to slip away, but he willed himself to open his eyes and regain composure. He struggled to his feet and looked at the new man standing before him. He was intimidating to look at, and clearly not someone to toy with.

"Yes sir." replied Fenrir weakly and almost illegibly, "May I be escorted to my room? I need to lie down." Then he snapped. He could hold his mental state no longer, and collapsed onto the floor, crushing his already broken arm, and hitting his head against the floor with a loud Crack! Everything in his mind was jumbled. A massive clusterf**k of incoherent ideas, and pointless logic danced through his head as rational thought tried to reclaim the dominance that it had grown accustomed to. Fenrir gave up, and lost all will to continue existing, his mind fading away into unconsciousness.  

[The Jolly Victini]

S.M. quickly reacted, picking up Fenrir and rushing him to the infirmary.  

[Fenrir Shade]

'Where am I? What am I doing here? Who am I? I-I'm Fen...rir. Fenrir. Fenrir... Sha-Sha-Shade... Fenrir Shade... Why is my memory acting like this? This hasn't happened since, since... since Mother's...' Fenrir's mind was connecting thoughts that weren't supposed to connect. Things that were buried resurfaced. Reality merged with the fake, Memories with lies... Nothing made sense. His mind brought back his deepest buried memory. The one he never wanted to remember. The one he never wanted to think about again. But it came to him anyway...

There was a stage. A wooden stage built in the center of town. No, not a stage, an Executioner's Platform... 'No! Not this memory! Anything but this! NO!' There was the captain, leading a prisoner that was too proud to be dragged, too proud to seem like a weak dog. She walked to the block, and knelt. She looked into Fenrir's eyes, and he looked into hers. It was his own Mother's... 'This was when I was just tuning five...' Young Fenrir's eyes swelled with tears, and they poured down his dirt encrusted cheeks, carving lines through the grime. 'Why did she have to go? WHY?!' She mouthed something, but his young brain couldn't understand it. She mouthed something else, this one he understood... "I love you." Fenrir wanted to look away, but couldn't. There was no comfort to be found anywhere. His father was in shackles, being held up on the platform. They were using his own wife as a torture tactic to get him to confess. He was crying as well. The Captain of the City Guard placed his boot on her back, pushing her head to the block. He treated her like a dog, like a vermin. She deserved more... She deserved decency. She managed to look at Fenrir again, eyes unwavering, grey and courageous. She was starring death in the face, and held no fear... The Captain placed his boot on her head, driving it down into the blood encrusted pale. He began listing crimes, reasons for her prosecution. He removed his foot, and gave the order...

The Headsman's Ax swung down, Fenrir's Father struggled to be free, struggled for defiance, but was subdued. The Ax severed Fenrir's Mother's head from the rest of her body... The memory went black, just as he screamed out:

"MOTHER!! NO!!!!"

He suddenly realized he was awake in a bright place, a silhouette standing over him. He couldn't tell who it was, but he thought he had reached some afterlife, and hoped more than anything that that was his mother...

"Mom? Mom, is that you?" he pleaded, collapsing back onto the bed.

The light was blinding, he couldn't see. He was Hyperventilating. His breath was short, shallow, and ragged. Not enough oxygen was reaching his brain. Too much was happening at one time. His heart was skipping beats. He was confused, and for the first time since that day, scared.  

[The Jolly Victini]

The nurse rushed to Fenrir's bedside and put a mask connected to a tube over his muzzle. This was feeding him oxygen, but also regulating his breathing and heart rate. Fenrir would pass out again, but at least he'd be alive.  

[Fenrir Shade]

Fenrir realized what was happening, suddenly embarrassed for screaming those aloud. He refused to give up this time. Refused to pass out. Especially if it meant seeing that memory again... He raised the mask enough for him to speak: "Lights..." he said weakly. "Turn out the lights..." His vision became blurry, but he refused to return to the hell that was his memories. If he could just experience the feeling of Shadow on him, he'd make it. He just needed to return to the realm that healed all his injuries before.  

[The Jolly Victini]

The nurse removed the mask and rushed over to a slider where she dimmed the lights down signifigantly. Just enough so she could still see.  

[Fenrir Shade]

A mass of shadow envelopes Fenrir as he absorbs the raw energy of the void. His arm mends, bone twisting and popping into place. The comfort of the Darkness, the only protection he had ever known, calmed him. It restored his mental state. Rational thought reorganized itself, memories coalescing in his mind. The memory he just remembered faded to the deepest recesses of his subconscious. The damp cool of the realm of darkness was rejuvenating.He had no idea how long he was in there, but he didn't care. He missed the comfort. He remained in there for as long as possible.  

[X_HeartofRoses_X]

Frost materialized back in her room, asleep on her bed. Angel materialized soon after and sat next to Frost, stroking her hair. "It took me a while, but I finally calmed you down..."