Chapter 67: True Family

Chapter 67: True Family

Hiyan stepped into the sleeping quarters of the warriors to find Gin, Fuji, Serena
and surprisingly the Fireys, sleeping.

He noticed the still Garthim standing guard near the Fireys, awaiting any
command.  Hiyan looked over at Gin and crept closer towards him.  He looked
down at his sleeping brother and felt a wave of sadness.

I can't say goodbye to you. It's too heartbreaking to say goodbye to a brother you finally met…

"Hiyan?"

Hiyan turned to see his mother and Serena wide awake, watching him.

"Mother," Hiyan said. "Mother, I'm…I'm going away."

Fuji stared at her son, but it was Serena who spoke. "Not without me you won't."

Hiyan stared at her. "But Serena-"

Serena stood up and shook herself. "I may be getting old, but I'm not going
anywhere without my daughter."

Hiyan nodded and looked back at Gin who still slept peacefully.  There was silence
interrupted by a soft snore from Tinder. Fuji finally spoke.

"You're so alike."

Hiyan looked at her in confusion.

"Your eyes hold the same gaze your father and Gin hold."

"Mother," Hiyan started to say something, but then dismissed it.  He walked
towards the entrance of the sleeping quarters with Serena. He stopped and stood
still, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Mother, please tell Gin…to stop by and say hello. He's always welcome to visit
us…"

Fuji nodded, tears streaming down. "Go on."

Hiyan gave a nod to Serena and both dogs run off into the night.  A mournful howl
echoed throughout the night.



Back at the castle, the Skeksis had gathered in the Emperor's throne room for
important business issues.

SkekUng sat on his rightful throne, pleased that he was once again emperor to
the castle.  The Skeksis watched him, wondering what orders he would give out
first.  SkekUng looked at his subjects suspiciously before he spoke.

"Return the robes to the Chamberlain."

The Skeksis all stared at him in surprise, even SkekSil.

"He has proven where his loyalty lay, and for that he shall be rewarded by giving
his title back."

Skeksil bowed his head, giving a small 'hmmmm'.  As the Chamberlain was being
led away by SkekEkt, SkekUng turned to the next matter of business.  He glared
at Katsurou who had stayed behind to tend to the surviving Deadly Pack dogs.

"I suppose you would like to stay in this castle…" He growled, still untrusting of
these dogs.

"We have nowhere else to go," Katsurou admitted. "We have females expecting
pups and pups too young to journey far."

"How can we trust those who followed our enemies?" SkekNa growled.

"We had no choice." Katsurou said. "We lived in fear of the Deadly Pack, but now
that they are gone-"

A piercing shriek interrupted him. The Skeksis looked up in alarm.

"The crystal!"

"The crystal is calling!"

Quickly, the Skeksis made their way to the Crystal Chamber. SkekUng followed,
grumbling to himself. If it wasn't one thing, it was another!

The Crystal Chamber already had two Skeksis before the others had arrived.
SkekEkt and SkekSil were staring up at the crystal, eyes widened.

SkekUng snarled at the others to let him pass through as he pushed his way
towards the crystal.  He turned and glared at the Chamberlain.

"Well, what did the crystal bats find?"

SkekSil didn't say anything. He suddenly dropped his robes on the ground and
quickly raced out of the chamber followed closely by SkekEkt.  The Skeksis looked
up at the crystal, but whatever the crystal bat saw had already gone out of
range.  Not knowing what else to do, the Skeksis followed the Chamberlain and
the Ornamentalist.  The Skeksis were lead outside where they found SkekSil and
SkekEkt staring at three unknown dogs that were running towards them.

SkekUng snarled. "Another attack?! When will all this end?"

"This is no attack." SkekEkt spoke up. His thoughts were on another matter.  
He's wearing the clothing I made for him...

At that moment, SkekSil dashed towards the three dogs.

"Hiyan!" He screeched repeatedly. "Hiyan!"

The lead dog began to bark and this familiar bark made the Skeksis stare with
amazement.

When he was close enough, Hiyan leapt onto SkekSil, his tongue darting out to
give his best friend a joyful greeting.

SkekSil didn't care who was watching as tears of pure joy leaked out of his eyes.  

The reunion was cut short when the Skeksis gathered around them.

"Hiyan," SkekUng spoke, "I thought you were to stay with your one true family."

Hiyan dropped to the ground and looked around at the Skeksis.

"I thought about it, and I had come up with my decision. I am glad to finally know
about the family I had been born to, but my true family is the Skeksis Clan. Even
though I had a rough childhood, I had always lived proudly with the fact the
Skeksis Clan may be crude on the outside, but are willing to fight and die for one
another. That is what a family is, a great family which can never be replaced."

The Skeksis heads turned, looking at one another.  SkekUng finally noticed the
remaining dogs of the Deadly Pack who stared at Hiyan with awe.  The Emperor
whispered something urgently to SkekZok.  The Ritual Master nodded and cleared
his throat.

"The law says the one who defeats a current leader shall take the role of the new
leader. Hiyan, you had defeated all seven leaders of the Deadly Pack, now you are
their leader."

Hiyan looked at the Deadly Pack dogs, which stood silently.  The young Akita
turned towards them. "I accept this position of your new leader, but you shall no
longer be called the Deadly Pack. No, from now on you shall be called the Skeksis
pack."

The dogs began to howl to honor their new name and their new leader.  Hiyan
howled along with them, a new aura won through the survival of hard days. The
Skeksis stood silently as they watched Hiyan with pride. Self-confidence and
valiant bravery shined from the young Akita. Once an outcast in the group, he was
now a leader and an accepted clan member.