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                There was pained breaths leaving the one who was speaking. “Dammit, why can’t you just speak like a few moments ago…? I’m sick of spending this time trying to get you to talk, you know that if you talked, you would be fine! Everything would be fine! We would all be fucking fine!”
                More silence, then a quiet chuckle.
                “I’m breaking you, and I’m the one you captured. How does that work?”

***

                The light rustling of wind filled Akumu’s ears, the scent of animals telling her she should hunt, but she was on a mission. She didn’t have time to go and find something to hunt, she had to find her mother, she had to go and find the one she was looking for. There was nothing that was going to delay her any further, she needed to find Emily.
                A light, fading scent entered her nose, and Akumu paused, she standing between two trees now, and she looked up and around, seeing nothing. The scent was familiar, and Akumu wondered if it was Emily’s scent, and she let the smell fill her nostrils, whispering, “Mother…” Opening her eyes, she took a few steps forward, letting her feet crunch down on the leaves that had freshly fallen. There was something exhilarating about this endeavor, the danger seemed to bring Akumu closer to where she wanted to be, closer to what she wanted to do. The pull towards her family, it was stronger while she was here. Zekkyo and Kaiyo no longer mattered, it was her, Emily and Luxes now. She just had to get them back, and it seemed a simple process.
                There was a loud crack behind her and the scent of a wolf filled her nose. Pausing in place, Akumu didn’t have to turn around, and she smiled a bit. Using her demon senses, the being behind her was carrying a scythe, just like her own, and whoever it was, was definitely around Akumu’s height. Swallowing once, she kept the smile. “Is your name Emily Rose?” she spoke, breaking the silence as she felt a part of the scythe touch the back of her neck, its sharpness already making a slight cut, but no blood. The blade froze in place, then a growl answered her.
                “Who are you?”
                Akumu’s eyes widened and she remembered the voice from her dreams, the girl who always touched her shoulder. Even with the growl, it was the same person. Blinking away the thought, she focused on the now rather than what she would solve later.
                “My name is Akumu Uta Alpha,” she replied, no longer using her last name Kaen.
                There was silence again, and a growl made for the next response. “Akumu, if that really is your name, how do you know who I am? You better answer or I will not hesitate to put this scythe directly through your neck,” Emily spoke, but the scythe stayed still. Something else that Akumu could detect, almost a call to her, it was odd and she never felt this way before. There was something opening to Akumu, and she saw images flash in her mind, multiple, one flashing of her back, she standing with the scythe still slung over her shoulder. What she was seeing…
                Was what Emily was seeing.
                Biting her lip, she kept smiling. “I know you because of many reasons, and I am here because of one of them. Although…” She went silent for a moment, and the scythe no longer touched her neck, but instead, she heard the sound of wind splitting the air. Thinking fast, she quickly grabbed her scythe with her right hand and put it into a defensive position, her blade blocking Emily’s efficiently. She finally looked at her attacker, whose sleeves were slightly worn on her short-sleeve gray shirt. There was a tear, and Emily’s hazel eyes met Akumu’s, there was no recollection of Akumu in them. With a slight chuckle, Akumu brought her foot up and kicked the shaft of Emily’s scythe, forcing Emily to stagger, and Akumu took a few steps away, looking at the one she might call her own family. “Not going to let me finish?” Akumu asked.
                Emily took a deep breath and brushed the hair out of her face with a hand. “Why should I? You’re obviously a threat to me, if you know who I am,” Emily responded. “How much do you know?”
                “Not very much, actually,” Akumu replied truthfully. “I only found you because of a few questions I have, although, my only problem is that right now, you don’t have the answers I seek. I’m only surprised I found you so quickly, or rather, you found me.” Akumu watched as Emily’s ear flicked, and continued to speak. “Look, I’m sure you know someone named Ashton, right?”
                Another growl and Emily lowered her stance slightly. Akumu knew, Emily was preparing to attack, she knew the stance too well. Ashton had prepared Akumu for fighting others, and Ashton had fought Akumu with many weapons, swords, staffs, scythes, even a gun or two. “You better explain exactly what you need me for, or I’ll see to it that your body will be burned, along with your weapon,” Emily growled deeply, her lips drawn back in a snarl. Her body was positioned perfectly now, and Akumu knew it was explanation or go down swinging.
                She’ll be very strong, Akumu thought. But I was told I was strong, so, let’s see how she compares. There was a slight grin on Akumu’s face, but she responded anyways. “I cannot tell you, and I probably should’ve brought Ashton with me before coming here. He was the one who taught me everything I know, of course.”
                “Ashton wouldn’t have taught you shit, girl,” Emily growled again, and swung once more. Akumu knew exactly the move Emily was using. Ashton has prepared me for something like this, he taught me the way she fights, Akumu thought to herself and parried the blow easily, and the look on Emily’s face only lasted a moment. Akumu knew, Emily was surprised at the way Akumu was easily blocking the attacks. There was another attack, and Akumu parried that one to, then she bolted forward, a move she taught herself to use against Ashton, and shoved the shaft of the scythe into Emily’s chest, knocking the wind out of her.
                Grabbing her easily, Akumu forced Emily to stagger backwards again, then pulled her into a quick hit with the shaft again, as if it was a staff. Emily used her scythe to block the blow, then quickly kicked Akumu away, who jumped back, Emily’s kick only helping her to get farther away from Emily’s attacks. “Seriously?” Akumu growled, losing her patience. “Why don’t you call Ashton here and let him explain?”
                Pause, more silence, then Ashton appeared a few feet away from both girls, Akumu holding hers defensively and Emily holding hers offensively. “Alright, I leave and come back, and get called, and now a cat fight. More of a wolf fight…” Ashton’s mumble was barely heard, and he looked at Akumu. “You couldn’t have waited until I came back to make your hasty and rash decision?” Emily stood entirely straight up, no signs of aggression anymore, only surprise.
                “Wait, you know this girl?” Emily asked, her ears moving back.
                “Of course I know this girl,” Ashton responded, looking at Emily now. “Jesus fucking Christ, both of you, can two girls not be left alone for a short time without both wanting to kill each other?” Ashton looked angry now and he turned back to Akumu. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”
                Akumu had gotten used to Ashton getting angry over things, and knew this was one time where she screwed up. “Because I thought-”
                “No, I don’t even care, you did it, and now we have to deal with it,” Ashton seemed to growl. He looked at Emily. “I know, I have a lot to explain, so why don’t we all just find a nice place to rest? It’s almost sundown, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to explain what’s been going on here. Also, did neither of you ever look at the other and think ‘Wow, I look just like her!’?” He almost seemed to scowl at them.
                Emily looked at Akumu. “What’re you talking about? She looks nothing like I do!”
                “Don’t kid yourself,” Ashton responded. “You’re almost identical, now come on.” Ashton began to walk, and Akumu looked at Emily and shrugged. Emily rolled her eyes, still the signs of a snarl in her lips as she looked at Akumu. They began to follow Ashton, Akumu putting the scythe back over her shoulders, and began to notice that Emily seemed a bit twitchy. Her right hand, the hand Akumu could see, was slightly twitching.
                They kept their distance from each other, and Ashton’s silence seemed to be harsh and cold. For once, Akumu was afraid of the vampire, whose silence was a bit odd. Maybe he’s trying to find out how to speak to Emily…? Or maybe a punishment for I, who went off on this endeavor myself… Akumu shook her head slightly, and they kept walking until Ashton stopped.
                “Here,” he finally broke the silence. “Emily, go find some wood for a fire, would you? I need to speak to your new friend privately.” Emily’s ear flicked once, her details strikingly similar to Akumu’s, even in this world. Nodding once, she took off, disappearing in the growing shadows that signified the return of the night. Taking in a breath, Akumu looked at Ashton, and felt his cold glare that seemed to go right through her. “What part of your right mind let you think you could go and find your mother without help!” He was at the point of almost yelling at Akumu, this was the first time she had seen him this angry for something. “Dammit, now I’m going to have to tell a lot to Emily without bringing all her memory back yet! I can’t just give her the memories back; we need to let it take time! If it was just all at once, you wouldn’t even have a mother afterwards and I’d be stuck with an insane, crazy fucking bitch!” Ashton let out a few breaths, then slowly stood straighter. “Now, it’s going to be hard to explain who you are and what has happened, but it’ll be best for me to tell the truth for now. No lie will be good, she’ll know I’m bullshitting a story, so the truth will have to do. Only a little at a time.”
                They became silent, and before Akumu could speak again, Emily had come back and dropped in front of Ashton plenty of dried wood for a fire. Without speaking, they all sat in a circle, seeming to keep as far away from each other as possible, and Emily seemed to want to speak. Akumu brushed her own hair from her face, looking at the fire that Ashton had created, letting the flames hypnotize her for a moment before looking back up.
                Letting out a breath, Emily finally broke their current silence. “So, someone care to explain what’s going on before I decide leaving is my best option?” There was a hint of threat in her voice, she meant it, and Akumu knew that. Her ears angled toward Ashton, waiting for him to answer Emily, because she wasn’t going to do it.
                Ashton looked at Emily and nodded. “Let me think first, because explaining this to you, who is more stubborn than a fucking rock, is going to be hard…” After a few more moments. “Fuck it.” He looked at Emily. “This girl’s name is Akumu Uta Alpha, a demon wolf with your blood. But not just your blood, she is someone who is closely related to you, she’s your daughter.” Ashton went silent, and Akumu looked at Emily for a reaction, and what she saw was a completely straight face.
                “She couldn’t be, Ashton,” she spoke evenly. “That girl might look like me, but I have never given birth to a child. I’m sure I would know if I did.” Akumu noticed Emily’s tail flick with an eagerness, almost as if Emily was feeling anxiety. “I’m sure I would know if I had sex with somebody and ended up getting pregnant, you know how my family’s blood works. I would have bled a lot, it would’ve been painful, throwing up, all that. I also have no faults within my memory and I’m seventeen, this girl looks like she’s fifteen.”
                “Sixteen,” Akumu corrected.
                Ashton gave Akumu a glare and she silenced herself, looking back at Emily. “And you aren’t wrong either,” he replied. “In this world, you didn’t have a child. In this world, you never even met your husband who, might I add, you basically died for fifty times before everything changed.” There was something in Emily’s eyes, a disbelief in what Asston was talking about, with the very slight shake of her head. “Emily, two years ago, I told you that you would meet somebody very special one day, do you remember that?” Ashton asked, and Emily gave it a few moments of thought.
                “Yeah, I do,” she responded again. “You had brought me to a lake with a ruined house, an old one, and told me that. Then you left to go do something-”
                Ashton nodded. “This was what I meant, you were going to meet Akumu one day.”
                After Ashton’s voice stopped, the only sound was the crackling of the fire and the breathing from all three of them. The night coming was warm, the sun lowering more into the horizon, and Emily looked at Akumu. Her eyes were hazel as they looked at Akumu, and she mouthed something Akumu didn’t catch, disbelief still in her eyes. Akumu noticed Emily swallow, and she kept looking back at Emily with a slight fear, wanting Emily to believe her.
                “Ashton…?”
                “Yes?”
                “Leave.”
                Akumu stopped breathing for a moment as Ashton stood, nodding once, Emily’s eyes not leaving her own. The man walked off into the forest, his scent fading rapidly, and the sun was casting orange rays upon the horizon now, the moon visible at the opposite side. Once Ashton was gone, there was more uncomfortable silence, then Akumu finally broke it, unable to take the silence any longer. “Emily…” Her voice stopped as Emily raised her hand to silence her.
                “These worlds are things I’ve only heard of from a few others,” Emily spoke, but not a single dark or threatening tone entered her voice, just a mild curiosity. “Very few can control them. To meet just one is very odd to me, especially one who claims she’s my daughter. Especially one who knows Ashton, and that Ashton has kept that from me. Don’t get me wrong, I know he keeps a lot hidden from me, but something as big as this… I want to know; how much do you know me…?”
                Letting out a breath, Akumu found her voice. “Very little, really… Only that you separated yourself, my father, and I a long time ago. Sixteen years, to be precise.” Emily had her hand down now, watching Akumu with the intent of answers, but Akumu knew how these things went, the more answers you got, the more questions you had. God knows Akumu had plenty herself. “When I found out the truth, I was… desperate, angry, I wanted answers myself… Ashton told me what had happened, and I got a decision. Do as you wanted when this started, to bring everyone back together, to become one family again, or never see you or my father again… As you can see, I came to find you…” Akumu’s ear flicked as a gentle breeze rustled through the trees, and her two tails flicked.
                Emily noticed both tails, and her muscles seemed to relax. “Another question, what’s with the tails…?” There was a slight smile on her lips, the first Akumu had seen.
                “I don’t really know,” Akumu responded. Giving a nod, Emily stood up, saying she’d be back soon, and walked into the forest, leaving Akumu alone by the fire. Darkness was now upon her, and she shivered slightly, not in cold, but still in fear. Her arm began to burn again, the mark for “Premonition” glowed red and Akumu let out a gasp, pulling her sleeve up and looking at the mark, her breathing hitching from the pain.
                An image flashed in her mind, a dark room, blood on her arms and legs, someone standing very close to her. But after that, the image was gone, the pain subsided, and as Akumu looked back into the sky, the moon was at its highest point. There was no way to describe how much confusion Akumu was in, and the pain slowly subsided. Letting out a breath, there was a snap of a twig ahead, and she noticed Emily was coming back, her tail making a gentle flicking motion.
                Emily moved around the fire, something in her gaze, and held her hand out to Akumu. Surprised, Akumu almost declined, but slowly accepted her hand, standing up. In a moment, Emily’s arms were around Akumu, a soft and gentle contact, and Akumu tensed for a moment. “It’s okay,” Emily whispered, something had changed in her voice. “Ashton showed me… some anyways… I believe you…” Akumu’s ears flicked at her words, and nodded gently before hugging her back. “It’s a bit hard to believe,” Emily whispered. “But… he gave me some of my memory back… I understand who you are…”
                “My daughter…”
                “My mother…” Akumu replied, and found herself hugging Emily a little tighter…