Ch.1- "Movin’ on Up…"

The pack entered the crystal cave. After many failed attempts, they were all finally at the gates of Paradise. Kiba and Cheza walked in front, while Hige, Tsume and Blue walked behind. Toboe brought up the rear. The pack walked in silence until the came upon the mirror that showed them Paradise. Kiba’s heart raced a million miles a minute.

We’re here, he thought to himself, We finally made it.

They stopped in front of the mirror and waited. After a moment, an old silver wolf appeared before them.

"I am Atali, the guardian of the Gates of Paradise. We’ve been waiting for you, my 6 wolves of the Apocalypse."

Kiba stepped forward.

"Thank you, Atali. We’re ready."

Tsume stood up firm.

"Correct me if I’m wrong, but did he just say 6 wolves?"

Toboe nodded.

"I heard it, too."

Atali blinked and took a second look.

"Ah, but there are only 5 of you."

Kiba began to get nervous.

"We don’t need the sixth one, do we?"

Atali nodded.

"All 6 plus the lunar flower are needed to get in, as you all play an important role in Paradise."

Atali looked at Cheza.

"The Flower Maiden that would lead the wolves to Paradise, and help them prosper."

Then he looked at Tsume.

"Tsume, the Ashen wolf; the Strength of Paradise."

He looked at Hige.

"Hige, the Golden wolf; the Provider of Paradise."

Hige smiled triumphantly. Atali looked at Toboe.

"Toboe, the Ember wolf; Innocence of Paradise."

Toboe blushed.

"Golly!"

Atali continued.

"Blue, the Ebony half-wolf; the Acceptance of Paradise and Kiba, the Ivory wolf, the Purity of Paradise."

The group looked at eachother and shrugged.

"So, what else do we need?", Hige asked.

Atali half-closed his amber eyes.

"You need to find the final wolf; The Pied Wolf."

Again, the group looked at eachother.

"Pied wolf?", Toboe asked.

"What the hell is a pied wolf? Some kind of dessert?" Tsume asked, losing patience.

Atali shook his head.

"The Pied Wolf is the Joy of Paradise."

Kiba sighed and shook his head.

"Tell me, where can we find it?"

The rest of the group gasped.

"Kiba, you’re not serious, are you?" Hige asked.

"We just got here! We’re leaving again?" Blue added.

Kiba looked at them sharply.

"It’s the only way to get to Paradise. I didn’t come all this way just to stare at it through a window." Kiba turned to Atali.

"Again, where can we find the Pied wolf?"

Atali pointed out where the wolves just came.

"Go to the east. There, you will find the pied wolf consuming her stolen feast."

Tsume rolled his eyes.

He has to rhyme now.

"Consuming her stolen feast? So, the wolf we’re looking for is a criminal. Great." Hige commented.

Kiba turned to leave.

"C’mon guys. C’mon Cheza."

Atali shook his head.

"The Flower Maiden stays."

Kiba turned sharply and glared at the old wolf.

"WHAT?"

Atali nodded.

"It’s safer for her. You will follow her scent back here. I promise I will keep her safe."

Cheza petted Kiba’s head.

"It is alright. This One will be fine."

"Cheza…"

Kiba closed his eyes as he felt Cheza’s touch for the last time. He turned and loped of, the others following him. Before leaving the cave, Kiba took one final look at Cheza. She called to him.

"Remember This One, Kiba! This One will be waiting!"

Kiba tossed back his head and howled a song just for his precious Cheza.

I will never forget you Cheza. I will return for you…always.

With that he turned and was off.

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Ch. 2 "…To the Eastside…"

The wolves had been traveling for a few days now. Everyone was on edge, especially Tsume. He hadn’t had much time to complain, though, as Hige was doing it for him.

"This sucks! This really, really sucks! Do you know why it sucks?"

Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Gee, I don’t know, Hige. Humor me."

Hige continued, despite Kiba’s sarcasm.

"I’ll tell you why! Because every time we get close to Paradise, we’re thrown two steps back! First, we’re all killed by Darcia. Then, we all get blasted by an A-bomb, and last time, before we could even bother searching, Kiba goes and gets hit by a trolley!"

Kiba growled at the memory.

"The damn thing came outta nowhere."

Hige began to pace wildly.

"And now, just as we can smell, see, even taste Paradise, some whacked out old guy says the only way in, is to find a stupid wolf made out of pie!!!!!"

Kiba calmly turned to the outraged wolf and, in the nicest possible way, said,

"Hige, shut-up."

Hige stomped his paw into the ground and began shouting.

"I WILL NOT SHUT-UP! YA KNOW WHY? CUZ THIS IS CRAP, YOU HEAR ME? CRAP CRAPITTY CRAP CRAP CR…"

Before he was able to finish, Hige’s face met hard with Tsume’s fist. The yellow wolf fell to the ground, unconscious. Kiba looked up at Tsume and nodded.

"Thanks, Tsume."

"No problem."

Kiba looked around at his surroundings. It was desolate, as far as the eye could see. He sighed.

"We’re gonna rest here tonight."

There were no complaints. Everyone was tired and hungry. Resting for the night was the only way to conserve their energy. So, each wolf dug a little hole in the ground, curled up with their tails over their noses, and fell asleep.

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There was a flash of light, then it disappeared. At first, everything went dark, then bars appeared. He was surrounded by bars. The ground he sat on was cold and forbidding. It stunk of feces, which occupied every corner of the cage. The cold ground was stained with urine and blood. All around him, people stared and pointed. With all dignity gone, he lay down in his own mess and gave up. Suddenly, there was another flash of light. He was no longer in the cage, but on a leash and muzzled. A big man was pulling him, cursing at him, belittling him. Two other men came with sticks and began beating him.

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Tsume awoke in a cold sweat. He was breathing hard and shaking. The dream was more then he could bear. He got up, shook himself off, and went for a walk.

Oh, man. What a nightmare. I’ve never had one like that before.

Tsume stopped and turned around. Toboe had followed him.

"Tsume, are you okay?"

"I’m fine." Tsume answered coldly.

Toboe looked at the ground sadly.

"You looked so scared…"

"I SAID I WAS FINE!!!!"

Toboe backed up.

"I’m sorry."

With that, he walked back to his hole to get some sleep. After a while, Tsume, too, returned to bed.

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The next day, the wolves found themselves at a fork in the road. Kiba looked at both trails.

"Where to now?" Blue asked.

Kiba shook his head. He honestly hadn’t a clue. Tsume looked at the trails. Suddenly, flashes of the dream he had began running through his head. The iron bars, the people, the men with the sticks.

"Tsume!"

Toboe’s voice brought the grey wolf back to reality. He looked at the pup.

"We’re leaving now."

Tsume looked at the trail Kiba decided on.He shook his head.

"It’s the wrong way."

Everyone stopped to look at Tsume.

"What do you mean ‘it’s the wrong way’?" Kiba asked.

"It just is. We need to go the other way."

Kiba tilted his head.

"How do you know?"

Tsume looked down at the dirt.

"I…I had this dream last night."

"A dream?" Hige asked. "How do you kno…"

"Do what you want." Tsume answered. "I’m going this way."

Tsume took off. After a moment, Kiba followed, then Toboe. Blue followed afterwards. Hige rolled his eyes and trotted behind.

Soon, they reached a town. They looked down at it. More flashes ran through Tsume’s head. There was no doubt about it.

"This is it." He said aloud. "This is where the Pied Wolf is."

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Ch.3 "We Finally Got a Piece of the Pie"

It was a normal day for her. Sit in her uncomfortably small cage all day until the zoo visitors went home. Then sleep in the uncomfortably small cage until the visitors came back tomorrow. She looked through the iron bars at the greedy humans. She hated them. It was the only thing that kept her alive. Her hate for every human that she seen. She laid down in her own filth, only to be yanked up again as the head zookeeper muzzled her and snapped a leash on. He roughly tore her from her cage and pulled her towards a room. She recognized this room. Animals that were taken in never returned. She began to struggle and squirm. It wasn’t her fault she was in terrible condition. It wasn’t her fault they never fed her or cleaned out her cage. And it wasn’t her fault someone complained to the board of health. But, the zookeeper felt it was her fault, and he was going to make her pay. She still struggled. She pulled and tossed her head from side to side.

"Why don’t ya just pick it up?" A worker asked, shoving a club sandwich into his fat mouth.

"Are you nuts? This thing is bigger then I am. Besides, I ain’t touchin’ it. It’s filthy. Look at the crap smeared in it’s fur." The zookeeper complained.

And I suppose that’s my fault, too? She thought to herself.

The worker and another man bothgrabbed sticks and whacked her in the back with it, trying to make her go forwards. She moved slightly, then stopped. The keeper dragged her closer and closer to the door of no return. But, she wasn’t going to give in so easily. She sat down and refused to budge another inch, despite the crack of the stick on her vulnerable spine. The keeper needed to rest a moment, but a moment was all she needed. The second she felt the lead slacken, she whipped around and bolted, ripping the leash from the keeper’s hand and knocking over the cruel men with the sticks. She wasn’t sure where to run, but that didn’t matter now. She just ran.

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The group stared down at the dreary little city. Their concentration broke when Hige’s stomach growled.

"Uh, is anyone else hungry?"

Kiba looked up at the butcher shop sign. Underneath was a smaller sign that said "Back in 5 minutes." He turned to the

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