A continuation of my Silverfang stories and also a gift to  Nikosei. Short and sweet, but does go into Nikosei's character alot. and I mean alot. Now... Onward to something else. Hope it's good, Niko!
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It was a cold winter in the streets of the war-torn New York City. Buildings that survived the battles of the Re-Evolution were in really bad shape now; tilted, empty, and rusting away. Rusting away like husks.
I stood inside the head of the battered statue of Liberty and watched the wind throw about snow through the air. The wrecks of skyscrapers out there were covered in the foot of snow. All of my friends were having a nice time below inside the main body of the historical statue, messing about with an old pool table and a few arcade games Alan hauled in for us. We called ourselves Silverfang- a group of mercenaries. Really, we were just a few odd people in a just as odd world. With a landscape like that, I felt like taking a walk.
I slowly walked down the stairs, sticking to the shadows, hoping to leave without too much fuss. My friends were down below on the ground level. Alex was working on his pool skills against Dennis; I think Alex was winning. Anyways, he had a smug expression on his face and Dennis was tapping his claws on the table in frustration. Thankfully, he was in a better mood, not one of his lapses into insanity.
Jessie was pounding away on of the games, her button mashing could even be heard up here. There was a lot of loud blips and beeps. Richard was playing a slower one alongside, thinking about his moves. I couldn’t tell the names of the games either of them were playing.
Alan was sitting back in a corner, possibly meditating. Maybe taking a nap? Who can say with that big guy; he’s an odd one.
From what I heard, it was Christmas time- or damn near it anyhow. Alan brought the games in as a present for his friends. Good man.
I creeped down the stairs and stepped into the old lobby, grabbing my hat and scarf from the coat hanger in the corner. My hat was an old knit owl hat; a favorite of mine even before the Re-Evolution. I tossed on a thick black hoodie- all I really needed because of feathers.
'Oh? Going somewhere?’ I heard Richard ask behind me.
'Yeah, I... Um...’ I tried to say when I turned to him.
'Ah, no bother. I was hoping you’d be able to join the sort of festive fun with us. So, are you looking for something out there? It’s a bit chilly...’ Richard responded.
'Honestly... I just felt like exploring.’ I responded.
'That’s fine, Niko. Keep your wits about yourself out there, you never know who or what could be hiding in one of those husks in the snow. And find yourself something nice, huh? I know you like Ancient Egypt. There’s an old museum about half a dozen miles south down the coastline, near Brooklyn. I heard that they had an extensive Egypt collection. Maybe there? Perhaps a realistic imitation that they left there, or perhaps a relic which hasn’t been looted yet? I don’t know, that time’s yours to spend.’ Richard said.
'Erm... I don’t know what to say. Thanks.’ I responded, stepping out the door. Richard went back to the fun and games in the lobby.
I walked down the walkway on the little island the statue was on. It lead to a dock, but that was of no use now. Dennis had rigged up a system from the freighter we had that froze the ice solid so that we could walk across it. I just used my talons as ice-breakers to keep me steady.
I braced myself against the 10 degree winds as I strode across the surprisingly solid ocean water. Dennis was a hell of a scientist and he was also good at engineering. I wouldn’t be surprised if his battiness (Pun intended) made him a bit better at building things like this. I may know alot of science, but my specialty is biology, Genetics, the like. Not this...
A small tugboat had been damaged by the fighting and was frozen in by Dennis’s ice maker device. The team searched it several times and pulled out what they could from it. There were plates of metal and glass missing from where Dennis or Richard removed them for projects, and the motor was dismantled. Parts again used in other projects. If I remember correctly, Dennis put a few of the motor’s parts into a flying craft he was making for defense of the statue. Smart.
I peeked in to see what type of creature was roosting in it today; a couple of crows. We called it the Beast Bin because something new would have residence in it almost every day, including the occasional homeless anthro.
I soon stepped ashore on the other side. The dock on this side was in a worse shape; falling apart, some pieces frozen in place due to the ice- the usual damage to a thing in a frozen, apocalyptic setting.
I climbed up on it and looked back. The Statue of Liberty had taken a beating during the Re- Evolution, including that time some of the human troops tried to knock it down. To show what it went through, it had a large hole in its cheek, two holes in its side, and most of the spikes on the crown were gone. Richard had spray painted our logo- a very stylized wolf’s head- on the chest of the thing, a good 50 feet high. And then a smaller, but still very large, 'Open for business!’ below the emblem. People probably wondered what the hell we were doing.
I could see Richard’s room from here; he had a residence inside a large room attached the the torch on the statue. He got some of the coldest winds, but his room was solid metal, built into the the side of the torch, and even had a few space heaters lying around. He had a telescope up there.
My room was inside the head of the statue, with a nice viewpoint as well. My room was accessed by a simple trapdoor; I usually blocked that up when I want privacy. The others had rooms inside the statue.
I got back to the walking. New York City was mostly our city now. Each of the team, including myself, set up things out there. I kept a generator linked to a hot-dog cart near the dock, with plenty of dogs and other things there for anyone to grab. I wasn’t really that hungry; I just grabbed an apple. Yeah, there were fruits in this cart. Even a few Pineapples. (You never know, a tropical species could get lost up here...)
I entered a large open area where people used to wait for the boats to the Statue of Liberty. No boats anymore. Nor people, for that matter. The snow here was stirred up, like a good deal of people had been walking through it. Ghosts...?
So, this museum was south? Best get to it.

I entered Times square for the, well, “hoot” of it, if you will. It was covered in snow and a few taxis had broken down in the streets. The Gigantotron screen was out of power, but Richard said he intended to attach it to a large generator and a DVD player so it could be a personal theater. A small shelter was made out in the street for it anyways, equipped with six seats.
One of the buildings had been blown open by some explosive ages ago; now snow drifted in over the once expensive furnishings. Now they rotted and froze. This had once been an important place, but no more.
I passed an old cafe that had been popular to the people where worked about here. I peeked in; the area was blasted and scorched, but some of the relics inside were intact- old instruments like drums and guitars, the usual stuff you’d see inside a cafe based on rock.
A wind whistled down the still jammed street. Hundreds of cars had been abandoned in the roads, making New York still feel quite crowded. It wouldn’t lose that feeling until it blew away into dust.
The vents that were always expelling steam in the streets had stopped years ago, and the lights had switched off; mostly. I could see a light or two in the buildings on- perhaps someone was lost and needed a place to hole up in for the night. The city’s big enough to hide a small army in and Silverfang wouldn’t notice until the first tank rolled up onto the ice.
I was about to proceed down one street before I noticed the massive collapse. A helicopter had been shot down, and it fell through the streets, grinding out massive chunks of the nearby buildings. This collapse must of been still for the past twenty years, if not more. I took a side route through one of the buildings.
It used to be a small fast food place. The menu over the ordering table hung by one rusty nail, advertising sandwiches for $4.49 and soups for $2.99. Good price for New York! Too bad this place saw its last. I clambered over the knocked over tables and the counter, stepping through the doorway that gave access to the kitchen. The kitchen was all rust and non-shiny chrome, and the fridge was wide open and dead. The place had the usual cooking vats and a grinder machine which looked suspiciously like it was used to grind up the not-so-desirable parts of the cow. Lovely. Maybe that price wasn’t so desirable.
I came out into a back alley that was only partly covered in snow; the flurries couldn’t fall inside of it due to a building blocking it. A small fire was burning in a barrel nearby the door; looked like someone was here earlier. I wonder who...
My question was answered when I felt an axe blade being held to my neck.
'Don’t turn around, missus. Give me all your valuables.’ I heard a gruff voice say; he scared me witless. I ducked and darted back into the door. The man- a wolf of sorts- was carrying a large fire ax. He swung it to the side and took a chunk from the brick wall. I drew my old combat knife from the sheath that I kept at my side and dodged another swing. He was clumsy and slow, but powerful. He pushed me further back into the kitchen, his next swing breaking the door on a broken down fridge. I remembered my training with the team and vaulted over his shoulders and ran down the alleyway. The attacking character stumbled over a tipped over trash can and threw his axe to the ground in anger. I kept on running, I was best coming at enemies from behind.

New York may have been Silverfang’s city, but, like most cities, it had unwelcome guests. Detritus like that jerk.
I stopped alongside the shoreline, a bit tired out. I had made a good deal of progress in that mad dash; the old museum was half a mile down the barren shoreline. I could just see it; its glass front was shattered in.
I walked down the cracked sidewalk, watching the bland blue waves lap up on the rocks. A six story building had tumbled into the water, half submerged. It looked like it was hit with a small missile for some reason. But why? So much destruction, for what?

I stopped next to the museum. It had been built on an outcropping that overlooked the ocean. It had no buildings alongside or in front of it, but the whole city was behind it. It also faced where the sun set... Must of been an amazing thing to see when the place was intact. But now, the snow was blowing harder. I stepped in.
A T-Rex skeleton had been put in the lobby. it had been intact before, but the skull had fallen and crushed a table. The little museum had a little shop, perfectly matching its... littleness. I looked for a directory or something, found none. If there was one, it either wore away, was stolen, or fell off and was covered by snow. Best start somewhere, though.
I climbed up some stairs behind the worn away and destroyed dinosaur skeleton, hoping for something that may have at once been the Egyptian section. I got Greek times. It was a small room, with only about three dozen artifacts; or at least the stands for them. The Spartan armor had been stolen from the pegs it rested on, but didn’t take the sword. The sword had been broken in half. There were a few vases; thousands of years old, now just shards on the ground. An Athenian chariot was the centerpiece of the room. It had fallen off of its platform and lost a wheel. The glass around it was shattered and gone.
I entered the next room; it looked like it was ancient Egyptian. There was even a hole blown in the roof, and snow was blowing in. It was a good deal larger than the first room and had a sarcophagus in the center. It had been spray painted by someone. Assholes.
A suit of armor had been there as well, but it was battered and the helmet was missing. There were many other artifacts around, all in varying states of decay. Pots had become shards. Armor had become battered metal. All was destroyed... Sad.
I picked up a plate of metal that had once been a shield from a case and found the only thing intact. It was a dagger- about a foot long and curved in two places, giving it two sharper blades on each side. There was an inscription on the side of the blade; I don’t know what it said. There was a picture of Thoth on the handle... Interesting. And why wasn’t this even touched by vandals?
I lifted the glass off of the dagger. No alarms went off; those systems must of decayed and fallen apart years ago. I disengaged the old wires holding the dagger down and grabbed it. I suddenly felt a little dizzy, so I let go of the dagger. I slipped. Darkness.

So, you’re the one who found my dagger.
‘What?’ I asked. I seemed to be floating in a vast dark room... Everything was black. I didn’t have any clothes on! I quickly covered myself.
Sorry about that. The voice said. Suddenly, an Egyptian robe appeared floating next to me! Was this a dream...? I put on the robe, turning about. There seemed to be no gravity... no wonder I was floating. A figure appeared from the darkness. The figure looked rather like me, but its feathers were more erratic and angled, and the figure’s crescent moon on his or her face was purple, mine was green. Yeah, I couldn’t tell the gender of the figure.
'Don’t be alarmed, Nikosei. My name’s Kura. I used to own that dagger.’ The figure said. Kura’s voice was deeper, so yeah, a guy. He was wearing a robe much like mine, but more regal. It even had purple...
'Alright, I have a few questions. First, why do you look like me? Second, what is the place? And third, why the hell do you have purple on your robe? Purple in Egypt comes from seashells, and that’s reserved for nobles. And how the hell do you know my name, anyhow?’ I asked. I wanted to inch away quietly, but there wasn't really anywhere to inch away too. Just had to stand my ground.
'...Or for a pharaoh that never was?’ Kura responded.
'Exactly- Wait, are you saying you used to be a pharaoh?’
'Indeed, my girl.’
'I am not your girl.’ I said.
'Sorry, I have forgotten what it is like to not have someone to rule over...’
We were silent for a moment.
'Can you answer my other two questions, please?’
'What? Oh, right. All of this time in the dagger has made me forget what another person is like.
I look like you... Well, because this is just a representation. I don’t really have a body, to be honest. I don’t think I do, anyhow. If it did; it’s probably gone by now. By Ra, what year is it outside?’
'Somewhere around 2200, I’d think. We forgot the date awhile back. Wait, you wouldn’t know it by that.’ I said.
'Hardly, Niko.’
'Well then... How many moons do you have in one of your years?’
'About 12.’ Kura responded.
'About the same as ours. Kura, you’ve been gone for at least 6000 years. The world’s changed; hell, the ruling species isn’t even human anymore!’
'...Have the gods abandoned us? I thought you were their emissary; That was why I contacted you.’
'Sorry to disapoint, Kura. Or should I call you your highness...? Anyhow, Egypt fell thousands of years ago. The country’s still there, millions of people still live there, but your line fell off ages ago. The world’s changed. A lot. Now, for the other question...’
'Ah, yes...’ Kura said. 'I’m not quite sure where this is. You touched the dagger, you were brought here. Same thing happened to me. My head priest brought me the dagger, saying he found it in a tomb from some of the first pharaohs and that it was imbued with the gods’ power. I took it; I trusted my head priest greatly; and found myself here. In darkness. With no body and little ability to do naught but occasionally look outside. Thus, this...’ Kura said. A little hole opened up. It was fuzzy, but I could see the some of the artifacts alongside. I was there too, slumped against the display.
'...It is a wonder I haven’t gone mad. You still have your body; leave while you still can.’
'How? And anyways, I still have a question. How could something be made like this? We don’t have the tech to make something like this, even by today’s standards.’ I asked.
‘I always thought it was the gods’ work. An imprisonment for an unjust ruler. I was that ruler, young Niko. I was young when they placed me on the throne, saying I was an incarnation of Horus. I took the power badly. I ate well, used our money for unneeded things, and even caused an unprovoked war. My scribes kept all of this off the records, but I still existed. I guess my priests decided I had to go. This... imprisonment was punishment for my crimes against the gods’ wills. I’ve had no one worthy, but now...’
'Worthy of what?’ I asked. Kura looked like he was struggling to say something.
'I can bind with you. I wouldn’t have my own body, but I would share yours in part. I could take control when needed; in emotional overloads and such. I know you have... troubles in your life, Nikosei. I can help you overcome those, you know. I was a pharaoh; a warrior king. I knew how to handle many weapons and deal with a good many problems. And you are my only way out, you know. You’re all I’ve got.’
I thought for a second. could I really do this? Join with a pharaoh. Forever. Eh...
'Alright.’ I said.
'Stand still for a moment, Niko. You’ll wake up shortly.’ He said before walking towards me and right into me. It felt rather like something was being glued right to my head...

I woke up with a start, half covered in snow from the hole in the roof. I stood up, shook myself off.
You may want to grab the dagger.
Oh, right. Kura.
I grabbed the dagger and turned it in my hands. The thing was even shiny still!
It is an odd object, is it not? Does not rust, does not age. If its wielder lays it against an injured friend, it can heal. The blade against a foe; it drips of poison that can go through metal.
Acid?
Is that what it’s called? Hhhmmm... You have some friends, no? Why don’t we go to them?
Usually I tend to stay out here, but, if you insist...
Thank you, Niko.
I- no, we started walking back down the shoreline. Well, I- sorry, we had a lot of explaining to do!