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Chapter 8


	“Whoohoo! It’s about time we got here!” Vixy cried, nearly shoving Shin out a
window in her passionate rush to the door. Clad in a bikini and sunglasses, Vixy
struggled to get out of the door with a rather large sack containing the
supplies one would need for a week at a beach. “Oof! Hey watch it!” the tiger
boy snipped back at her, “I heard you were excited, but at least settle down.”
	“Oh shush you!” she chirped, too cheerful to be perturbed by such things as her
roommate, “you just need to get out and get some sun! You look so pale!”
	“Eh…my fur is white you know that?” he replied. The silence that filled the
room was thick as Vixy evaluated that answer. “That’s a good point,” she finally
admitted at length, tucking a towel under her arm, “but either way, some
relaxation would do you good. You ought to come with us.” Shin blinked, looking
at her questioningly, “Huh? Me? You want me to join you?”
	“Sure,” she said with a shrug, “I mean, you have been pretty useful around
here, though try to keep out of the way. Now come on, if you want to be off
early,” Vixy concluded by tossing him a towel. Catching it, Shin flung it over
his shoulder and scratched his head a few times. “Well she is awfully hospitable
today!” he thought quietly as he padded towards the door, “I wonder what she got
into?” Stretching his neck again, he shrugged, thinking, “Well who cares, after
that giant cat and overgrown fish thing, I need a break and lying around in the
sun is the ideal way in my opinion!”

	Sea birds and breezes wafted across the porches and exterior of the Center,
giving everything a claming salty feel to them. As the engines began to cool, a
new sound was heard rising to replace it. Steel drums, pipes and a myriad of
other instruments were filling the sky. Laughter and the sounds of vendors
hawking their goods soon added to the melody of the tropical wonderland. Around
the massive pad for the Center to rest on was a bustling and busy Caribbean
town, its activity in full swing with the arrival of the waves of students and
others from the Center. The site was chosen as a landing point for the Center in
order to give the students a well-deserved break from their studies. The entire
island was picturesque of what tropical islands should be, and it was not long
before a town had grown around the landing site, supplying the needs of the
Center and the visitors it brought. Despite the busy rush of traffic that its
arrival did herald, the town was still amazingly friendly to the guests and
good-natured, catering to their needs in almost a carnival like atmosphere.
Cheers began to flow from both the Center and the town as the wave of students
pressed at the exits, waiting and yearning to be out into the summer paradise.
“Alright kids!” the master of the school shouted over a megaphone, “have a nice
vacation!” With that, the doors flung up and the tide of students began to swarm
onto the streets. The more experienced and knowledgeable upper level students
immediately staked out claims along the beaches or seats in the cafes while
first year students wandered, clearly in awe of the sights, sounds, smells and
tastes that had been laid before them.

	For her part, Hope had never even imagined of some place like this. She
wandered, jaw agape, through the streets of the small town. Dressed in a pair of
shorts and short t shirt that exposed just a bit of her belly, Hope strolled and
explored the various streets. Her natural aura of friendliness and cheeriness
served her well. “Hey ‘dere little one!” a feline girl called out to her from a
café, “come and have a drink, on the house!” Hope slid up and began chatting
with the tender, who happily slid Hope a drink. Sipping at the refreshing fruity
beverage, Hope marveled in the sheer splendor of the changes school has brought.
At home, any time she thought of a beach was when she was traipsing along the
rocky coastline of North America, hardly the warm silky sands of the Caribbean.
Of course, she didn’t mind the rocky coasts either. “Ah, what a world,” he
sighed wistfully, thanking the provider of the drink as she took off towards the
beaches.

	Azure water lapped against the pearly white beaches, small little swirls of
white foam curling and hissing as the water receded. “Ahhhh,” Vixy sighed, “now
this is living,” she added, flopping onto her blanket and basking in the sun. “I
think for once you are right,” Shin replied with a chuckle as he lay back on his
own blanket. With a little grin, she tousled his hair again, “what do you mean
by that? I’m always right.” Laughing quietly, Shin slowly scanned the beach,
watching the various activities going on. Younger, supervised children played
amongst the surf and sand, building little castles and burying one another. A
little further out in the shallows, older kids kicked and splashed in the water,
throwing up sheets of sparkling water. However, even further out was where
things got more interesting for the brave of heart. The waves from the sea were
untamed there, and surfers of all abilities were out trying to conquer them.
Squinting, Shin could spot a familiar head of black hair and corresponding pair
of small horns atop a rented board. It appeared that the shape was having
trouble controlling the board and was rapidly approaching the sand. Moments
later, Shin was soaked by the incoming splash and laughing, while Hope had the
look of a shipwreck victim. Sprawled out on her board, Hope panted and let the
sun dry her wetsuit. Minutes later, she finally admitted, “ok, surfing is not my
best trait.”

	As night fell on the island, the sounds of the celebration hardly abated.
Scores of bonfires and small parties lined up and down the beaches, flickers of
embers whisking up into the air. Gorged on native food, the students found it
very difficult to even get up to move back to the rooms, and for a great number
of them, decided that sleeping out on the beach was quite acceptable. Though up
in the Center, one pair of eyes was separate from the festivities. Looking over
the beach from her room, Nearie’s expression was unchanged, though in the back
of her mind she felt a twinge of regret and longing for the beach. “Used to play
there a lot,” she whispered to herself, closing her eyes and falling into a
daydream of her younger days.
“Hah! I’ve got you now!”
	“Eek! Hey no fair splashing!”
	“Oh yeah?” The young ursine girl charged into the hologram Spirit, the best
from for many in their childhoods. Sand kicked up in their youthful chasings and
leaps as each of the struggled to become the dominant girl. “Hah!” a new voice
cried, suddenly bursting in from out of sight, “now I’m the winner!”
	“Ah! Mom!” Nearie giggled, “quick! Let’s get her instead!”
“Uh oh! Hey you two, it’s time for dinner ok?” Ambar said with a laugh as the
two charged to the attack, and the holographic setting began to dissipate.
“Alright mom, we’re coming!”
Blinking, Nearie snapped out of her small reverie and shook her head, reassuming
full control over her thoughts. With one small sigh, she retired to bed, but not
without stopping for a moment to open up her desk drawer, revealing the wealth
of drawings that Penny has done for her. Handling each one like a fragile piece
of glass, she removed them and looked each one over, a small smile barely
visible on her face.

	“Lousy stinking coyote, where the hell did HE come from?” the rock muttered.
“And on a similar note, how is something that strong even here? He’s no Crest,
but somehow he managed to just swat that thing away without trying.”
	“You should really calm down,” Meyshisiam replied.
	“Hush,” was the invariable reply. Despite its anger, the rock was in good
spirits. The rush of fear caused by his latest demonstration allowed him more
control over his human owner. A brief moment of weakness allowed him to lodge
firmly into his mind and begin exerting subtle control, harvesting more of his
own energies to fuel his goals. Sitting on the windowsill, the rock muttered
down at the town, “hmph! Stupid little village and students, it would be a shame
if something happened…”
	“Hey!” Meyshisiam chimed in, “why do that? Vixy is probably down there, and I
don’t want to see her get hurt or anything.”
	“Hmmm,” the rock thought, “that is something.” Turning from its thoughts, the
rock said, “well don’t worry; I will make sure she isn’t harmed, or maybe you
can rescue her?”
	“What? Really?”
	“Oh sure, you could be the big hero…and besides, I’m sick of throwing out those
little petty creatures with no strength, I think its time you saw something with
some actually strength.”

	“Y’know Vixy,” Shin observed, dozing lightly on the sand, “I think I could
really get used to something like this all the time.”
	“Told you that you needed some sun.”
	“I suppose you got me on that one,” Shin replied, chafing a bit as a wave of
feet came sprinting by, more students. “Uh…Shin?” Vixy asked, staring at the
start of the running. “What?” he said, then immediately had his question
answered.
	Hulking nearly fifty feet in the air was what appeared to be Stonehenge gone
wild. Massive, thick slabs of stone had stacked and fused, slowly taking on a
humanoid shape and judging from the murderous glow of its red eyes, it was not
here for a party. “Damn!” Shin barked, bounding to his feet, “what in the hell
is THAT?”
	“Whatever it is,” Hope said, jogging up beside him, a subtle aura of her
strength and power already flowing, “it looks like it’s headed for the town!”
	“Oh no…we need to stop it, come on Vixy! Hope!” Shin yelled, his power
exploding through him as he began to soar up towards it. Almost at the same
moment, Hope had fired towards it as well, as if fired from cannon. “Oh man…”
Vixy mewled, “that thing looks strong, I hope I still have it in me…” she said,
charging and flying nervously after the two. The golem slowly turned its head,
catching with its eyes the three figures headed towards it. As it turned, the
monster swung its fist in a great arc at the trio, the fist of stone careening
right at Shin. The sheer size and speed caught Shin off guard, and the rock
crunched into his chest and face, momentum hurling the tiger backwards. “Shin!”
Hope cried, and then turned as the monster wound up another punch, this one
aimed at Hope. She could only barely avoid the punch, whispers of the wind from
it blowing through her hair as she tried to establish something of her own in
the fight. “Ah! H-how is that so fast?” she whispered, dodging and spinning past
the blows. For her part, Vixy was only trying to find a place where should could
be useful. With a wave of courage, he extended her arms, the training of her
much earlier youth struggling to emerge. “Eat this!” the vixen cried, sending a
spiraling jet of explosive flame into the creature’s shoulder. The explosion
threw both Vixy and Hope backwards, a plume of smoke engulfing both of them.
Coughing, Vixy managed to sound a victorious laugh, “hah! I got him!” when
suddenly a new pained cry filled her ears. Blinking feverishly, Vixy soon became
aware that the monster was hardly out of the fight, and in the moment of
blindness, had snatched Hope in its fist. The younger girl twisted and struggled
in its grasp, but was only met with a squeeze of the hand, slowly crushing her.
There was a mark on the golem where Vixy’s attack had hit, however, it would
take many of them to cause its destruction. “Oh no…Shin where are you?” Vixy
whispered, and suddenly yelped as the golem turned its free hand to attacking
Vixy. Her reactions slowed by time and lack of training, Vixy could feel herself
slipping and it was not long before the fist cracked across her body, hurling
her into the sand. A booming chuckle emanated from the monster, now with only
Hope on hand, it began to slowly tighten its grip delighting in the girl’s
struggles and screams. Her powerful muscles could not hold off the assault and
Hope could feel the pain from her pressed bones and limbs welling up inside of
her, pained screams and the chuckle the only things she could hear. “Hope!” a
voice suddenly rang clear, “get ready!” It was Shin, who had recovered and a
growing ball of energy in his hands. With a yell, he sent the orb into the
monster’s elbow, shattering the thinner part of the arm and freeing Hope. “Now
Hope! Hit head!” Disciplined by her years of training with her father, Hope
twisted and ignored the pain in her body long enough to let her energy swell and
rush through her arms. Shin, too, released a second blast of energy, and both
attacks impacted simultaneously. A burst of fine mist was left where the beast’s
head was, and slowly, the magics binding it together began to collapse, the
golem crumbling back into the sea piece by piece.

	Bruised and battered, the three limped away from the scene. Shin and Vixy were
mostly alright, a nice large bruise where the fist had connected, but Hope was a
little worse off. The stress placed on her body made her steps uneasy and
wobbly. From a distance, the stone grinned in its mind. “Well, it appears I see
the source of my irritation, now it’s only a matter of time…”