It was well documented how much power the demon lord Krechevskoy was capable of unleashing. Even without being bound to the mortal realm, if caught by surprise or if he felt he was threatened he was more than capable of snuffing out a single life. Dr. Adam Scott, since locating the demon, has been consumed with the thought of contacting and convincing his quarry of his allegiance, but also concerned with surviving to tell the tale.

So, the doctor came up with a plan to allow him to contact Krechevskoy from a position of complete safety. The only foolproof way to do this would be to make his initial communication... by proxy. A messenger capable of withstanding the forces that the demon could release was needed. To this end, Dr. Scott began work on one of his most ambitious projects. Combining the nearly unlimited electric power contained in a bolt of lightning with the darkest arts of magick, he would create an artificial life... a homunculus to do his bidding.

Studying ancient texts that he had secreted away from the National Supernatural Investigations Unit, Dr. Scott worked diligently for over a month, carefully constructing the gears and clockwork mechanisms that would drive the movements of his creation. This was to be mingled with actual flesh, taken from cadavers and molded painstakingly to his purpose, providing tendons and muscles... skin, fur and hair to give the appearance of true life along with metallic implants to strengthen the bones and internal structure.

The work was hard and more than a little dangerous. Combining practical applications of sciences that even Dr. Scott believed were on the fringes of reality with such powerful magick was incredibly volatile, but, in the end, the doctor had created a being to house the concentrations of physical and mystick energy that would be needed, an artificial creature to match the powers and abilities of Krechevskoy if needed.

Calling his creation FAEL (Feline Autonomous Experimental Lifeform), Dr. Scott had made his homunculus in the form of a true Anim cat, carefully ensuring that it would stand up to even the closest scrutiny without betraying its true nature. The only clues were the odd markings that could not be hidden, masking both its power and the retractable wings contained within its inner workings.

Choosing the night before a lunar eclipse (as the ancient texts had instructed) during a particularly violent storm, the doctor carried FAEL along with the needed equipment to the highest room in the abandoned tavern that served as his laboratory and home. Drawing the circles of power with great care, he gathered the magick energies, the air almost crackling with the hidden power.

A solid iron pole was passed upward through a gap in the ceiling to attract the lightning that would give his creation the spark of life. A linen sheet laced with metallic iron shavings then draped over the homunculus to allow the electricity to be conducted evenly across the body. All was set, and the doctor stood back to wait, chanting the ancient incantations that would seal it to its task.

Dr. Scott was unclear on exactly what happened next. An incredibly loud noise rent the air as a bolt of energy struck the iron pole and passed downward across FAEL. Nearly instantly, the room was engulfed in a massive explosion that blew two walls completely to pieces, throwing the doctor out into the night and onto the street below.

He struck the ground already unconscious as sherriff's deputies and citizens raced to the scene. It was dark and utter chaos in the rain and mud, feet racing everywhere to try to determine just what had happened and nearly trampling the injured scientist. In the end, he was carried off to the home of Dr. Menning to care for his wounds.

Waking the next morning, Dr. Scott was immediately panicked. Without waiting to heal completely (and against Dr. Menning's suggestions), he raced back to his laboratory to find a scene of absolute devestation. All the equipment he used had been destroyed, the heat from the explosion had been so great that even the iron pole had melted to a blistered lump. The walls were charred, but the fire had been contained almost solely to that one chamber, apparently doused by the rain before doing much more damage.

Of the homunculus, there was not a trace. Drawing the conclusion that the fire had been so hot that it had incinerated his creation, a severely discouraged Dr. Scott began the task of cleaning up and healing. Other means would need to be found to contact Krechevskoy safely. The powers that he had tampered with here had simply been too great for him. Moving on with other, less unpredictable plans, the doctor considered the FAEL experiment a complete failure.

He was wrong.

The supersaturation of his creation with physical and magickal energies had had a side effect that the doctor had never forseen... life. Rather than being born a mindless servant, the homunculus awoke in a maelstrom of fire, smoke, wind and rain. In that instant, he was aware of himself, possessed of a consciousness that he should not have had. He experienced emotions that he did not understand. Mostly, he was gripped by an overpowering panic and terror.

Clutching the sheet that covered him (both for it's coolness and strange familiarity), the cat leapt through a gap in the wall behind him landing easily in the street below. People ran amok in the street, rain and mud splattering everything as the scene was oddly lit by the flickering green and orange flames above.

Fearful and not knowing where to turn, the cat ran from the street and hid in a dry space in an alleyway under some discarded lumber. He huddled there for the whole night, shaking, wet and listening to the sounds of the town around him. Finally, near dawn, he fell into an exhausted sleep and dreamed of a white tiger with odd blue stripes.

When the frightened cat awoke, the storm was over and night had begun to fall. The moon hung full in the sky, a reddish shadow beginning to pass over it's face even as the darkness grew. FAEL crept out from his hiding place hesitantly, but encouraged by the fact that people were moving much more slowly now, their strange words more relaxed and easy. He could understand none of it, but as he ventured out into the streets he came to recognize one word that was repeated over and over as the citizens of the city looked upward at the quickly darkening moon.

Aware that he was drawing many curious looks, FAEL began to retreat to his hiding place once again, but was confronted by two large dogs with shining pointed symbols on their chests. Afraid, FAEL began to feel an energy coursing upward from somewhere deep within him, but he held it in check as the larger of the two dogs spoke softly, his tones reassuring as he held his hands outward in a soothing gesture. Perhaps this dog would help him? Unsure, but not knowing what else to do, FAEL allowed himself to be led to a large building with metal cages on the inside.

He was led into one of the cages, his companions indicating that he should sit on the soft bed inside and retreating out of the cage to close it behind them when he complied. He was a bit worried at being left there, but the bed was soft and the room, warm. When the dogs returned, he smiled at them gratefully and they seemed to calm down a little.

The larger one again spoke to him. He repeated the word "Dodgson" and pointed to his chest, then said "Kliner" and pointed to his companion. After doing this several times, he pointed to FAEL and waited. Understanding that these words were titles, the cat was at a loss to what his own title would be. Not knowing what else to do, he repeated the word he had heard in the street so often: Eclypse.

He spent the night comfortably in his warm cage, the dogs bringing food and water and some rough clothing. They had to demonstrate how to don the shirt and pants before disappearing to rooms beyond once more. When they returned, they were accompanied by an old female fox with kind eyes. Dodgson and Kliner introduced him as Eclypse to the old fox and she spoke gently to him. Eventually, the cage was opened and Dodgson offered a rough smile as he indicated that the cat should leave with the fox.

She led him to a simple house near the edge of the city. Several feral cats lived with her and everything inside was soft and warm. Showing him to a room with a small bed, the kind fox smiled warmly at Eclypse and nodded to him reassuringly as she closed the door and left. Somehow, he knew that she wanted to help him and drifted off into a peaceful sleep, broken only by dreams of that strange white tiger.

FAEL lived with the old fox for many months, adopting the name Eclypse easily and learning all the lessons she taught him with an almost mechanical efficiency. Within weeks, he had learned enough language to communicate fluently. Shortly afterward, he could read from the book that the female he had come to know as Grandmother called a Bible. She taught him lessons about how to act and what was right and what was wrong.

At night, he was plagued by those same images of the tiger and haunted by questions about who he was. His memories of that first night had become disjointed and filled with gaps. He could recall only images mostly. Dodgson finding him, his hiding place under the lumber, rain, splashing mud, the burning room and before that... nothing. It was as if he simply hadn't existed before that night. But, he knew now that that was impossible. He was younger than Grandmother, but older than a newborn. He must have had a life and a reason for being in that burning room, but... what?

Still, even with these questions tormenting him, the cat was content to remain with the old fox. She loved him, he knew, as a mother would her son. It was a peaceful life of comfort, and Eclypse decided that, even if it meant never discovering his past, he could stay happily with Grandmother forever.

Until the wolves came...

Returning one afternoon with some food from the General Store, Eclypse knew something was wrong even before he entered Grandmother's sitting room. It was as if there was a tension to the very air, a disturbance in the dust motes that drifted lazily about in the long, tinted light of the sun. It did not prepare him for what he found.

Three gruff wolves stood by the old fox who sat, fearful but oddly defiant on her favorite armchair. She had obviously been crying, but hid it now, though her hat was torn and stained by a small mark of blood. The wolves held pistols on her, which they turned quickly toward Eclypse as he entered.

Demanding to know what was happening, two of the wolves quickly surrounded him offering not an answer but shoving him to the floor next to Grandmother. She put one paw gently on his arm and, oddly, smiled softly at him. Turning his gaze toward the invaders, Eclypse glared angrily at them, feeling as if sparks were going off somewhere behind his eyes.

"You are frightening Grandmother. Please leave," he demanded in cold, serious tones. The wolves simply looked at each other and laughed.

"And what're you gonna do if we don't, little kitty cat?" asked the tallest, most unkempt wolf. The alpha, Eclypse guessed.

He began to rise to respond, but Grandmother gripped him a little harder with her paw and whispered gently to him.

"Let them take what they wish," she said softly, "God will punish them for what they do."

He tried to protest, but sat back down at the gentle look in her eyes. The wolves laughed yet again, the alpha stepping quickly toward Grandmother.

"God, huh? Maybe some day, you old bitch. Until then..." said the wolf. He then raised his pistol and struck the old fox on the side of the head. She let out a small cry and fell to the side of her chair, unconscious and bleeding.

Something snapped inside Eclypse when he saw this. Feeling a strange coldness sweep through him, he slowly stood as the wolves leveled their pistols at him.

"Don't even try it," the alpha warned as Eclypse turned to stare into his eyes.

"You hurt Grandmother," said the cat dangerously. "Leave."

"You heard what the old bitch said," replied the wolf. "Give us what we want and let God sort it out."

The wolves laughed loudly at this even as Eclypse felt an odd surge of power building inside him. It reminded him vaguely of something he had felt before, but couldn't quite remember. Whatever it was, he knew that these invaders would be made to pay for this crime.

"I will let God sort it out," said Eclypse slowly. "With my help."

"I'd like to see you try it, pretty boy," the alpha said in between his gales of laughter. Eclypse simply closed his eyes.

"Alright," he whispered.

In an instant everything changed. Somehow, the power that the cat could feel inside him was released in one violent explosion. The house around him and all its contents, along with the wolves that had invaded it were all but vaporized, exploding into so many splinters and flying away in an incredible chaos of noise and blue energy. Even the houses surrounding Grandmother's shook at the shockwave, their windows shattering and their walls buckling slightly.

When Eclypse opened his eyes again, the destruction was complete except for a small circle just around him. He stood on a piece of floor that was untouched, a wrinkle in the carpet at his feet the only hint that anything had happened. Beside him, Grandmother lay against the side of her chair unaware. Of the house and the wolves beyond, not even splinters remained.

Deputies and citizens immediately swarmed the property. Questions were asked, Eclypse detained for a short time, but he was eventually released to the pastor who was caring for Grandmother, still injured and deep in a coma. It was decided that the house was invaded by wolves from the Demon Riders gang after their pistols were found in the debris along with pieces of bone. The Sherriff determined that they had attempted to threaten the old female with dynamite and had inadvertantly set off the explosion.

The Sherriff was notably silent on exactly how both a young cat and an elderly fox had survived unscathed at the center of the explosion. "Inexplicable Phenomenon" he called it and considered the case closed. It wasn't that Eclypse had lied to the police, he simply hadn't volunteered certain information (somehow knowing that some of the facts might not be seen the right way) and the deputies had not asked the right questions.

Inside, however, he felt as if he was torn in two. Who, or WHAT, was he that he had command of such power? With barely a thought he had destroyed Grandmother's home with all her possessions and the feral cats that had been her only companions before she had found Eclypse. Because of his actions, she now had nothing. Worse, he might have killer her. As it was the gentle fox who was the only family he had ever known lay in an endless sleep because he had hesitated to act against the wolves.

Would it happen again? If it did, would he be able to control it? Or would someone he knew, someone he loved, get hurt?

It was the most painful decision he had ever made, but Eclypse knew that until he could find some answeres he could no longer stay with Grandmother. Explaining himself as best he could to the pastor who now cared for her, he left with the advice to seek guidance from God.

Setting out into the city that had once so terrified him, the cat began his search to discover his past. Where had he come from? Why was he here? Who or what was the strange white tiger that appeared in his dreams? The answers were out there somewhere. He felt it... he knew it. With few leads, he sought out someone that Grandmother had once introduced him to.

"Breeze knows just about everything worth knowing in this city," she had said. So, his first step would be to find the kind squirrel and hope that he remembered meeting the young cat. With any luck, he might know something about the burning room. For the first time, he felt filled with a sense of purpose. His quest had begun.

Fursona copyright and wholly owned by  cutekitty

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My first foray back into the Old West series after I took an extended break. I worked on some other things while I was on my hiatus and did a lot of study drawing. The result was a slowly improving grasp on anatomy. Yes, even I admit it.

This was a friend of Breeze's that he pointed me to. I asked if he wanted to be included in the series and he was all for it. I really liked the idea behind his fursona so I sort of old-westified it and ran with it a little. ^_^ This is probably one of my favorite panels from the series, actually. Simple as it is