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8/27/2018

Episode 11: Homeward Bound - Part 1

October 20, 1995
        I often wonder these days what it's going to take. What are we suppose to be doing to make things right around here? Animal has been more or less distracting himself by playing with Meryle instead of talking to me how he has been taking Wraith's death. Monster, on the other hand, seems to be completely different with no sign of who he once was. I've seen him alone wondering through the trees along the property gazing off into the clouds through the canopy. If anything, I'd say he looks... regal. It's hard to admit it, but Monster has definitely changed. Animal is changing too, but I worry that it might not be for the better. Jonathan has been bringing Meryle by for her play dates and managed to convince her foster parents that it has doing her some good emotionally. They seem to be under the impression that Meryle has been acting differently because of her father's absence. Though it's true no one has heard or seen Dornan, his disappearance is not what is causing Meryle's troubles. She was on the front lines with us during a crisis that almost torn this town apart. She's traumatized, and Animal is the only thing that I know of that seems to be helping her.
        While Meryle and Animal play outside, Jonathan and I grab a drink and talk about how the whole Grim situation has been progressing. He tells me that the transformations of those infected are always happening at night and rise in frequency around the same time every month, during a full moon. It can't be a coincidence, and it's the only thing we have to go on. I'm no scientist, but Jonathan is, somewhat. Time is running out, and if Dornan doesn't come back soon, I have no idea what is going to happen. After Jonathan found out where the Grim were 'coming from,' he began to subdue and restrain them until sunrise, at which point they returned to normal. But with the frequency in incidents rising, Jonathan won't be able to handle all of them much longer, and this all staying quite will be impossible.
        Just this afternoon, after Jonathan and I came to the conclusion that we need Dornan back to fix all this, Monster came to have a chat. He started off with how he knows that we have had difficulties on the past and apologized for his actions. I swear it's like he has been completely replaced with another Primeran. He shocked us by saying that if we still had a problem with him that we wouldn't have to be concerned for much longer. He was leaving. He presented to us a green colored glass orb. When he showed it to us, it began to glow and slowly reveal a Primeran, a female. She had the appearance of fox and was bowing on her hands and knees as if pleading. She introduced herself as Takai, and pledged her allegiance to Monster and his cause. It was some kind of previously recorded message in which she was pleading for him to return to Ferus Mundas. From what I understood from the message, Primeran foxes have been allied to Dragons for a very long time, and band of Primeran thieves stole an important relic of the Dragons that the foxes had in their possession. Monster explained that this relic was a scroll that detailed important research that dragons had performed on themselves in order to become stronger, but also reveals numerous weaknesses. Weaknesses that enemies of the dragons would do almost anything to acquire knowledge of.
        Monster plans to leave in about three days, but considering Wraith is no longer with us, I had to ask how exactly he planned to get back to his home world. Apparently, the Foxes are one of the few clans that have a way to travel between Earth and Ferus Mundus, but it has one catch. Two Primerans open the gate together with one going through so that both can support the passage on each side. Though Monster will be able to go through, it means that the Primeran keeping the gateway open on Earth has to stay here in order to allow Monster to pass through. Having a Primeran I've never met stranded here doesn't sit well with me. Call me jaded, but Monster promising this Primeran will not cause any problems has me still doubtful. 

 
        When I sat down with Animal to explain what was going on, he was quiet for a long time. Suddenly, he spoke up and dropped a bomb on me.

Do you think he would let me go with him?” 
 
      I was speechless, at first I couldn't understand why he would ever even consider going there, let alone with Monster. But as I tried to object, he opened up for the first time since Wraith's death and began to cry. No tears flowed, but his words certainly did.

It hurts Kate, it hurts so much to be here. I just think that if I act like things are okay then they will be, but it doesn't get better, it just hurts more. I need to go. I need to see what its like, the place where Wraith is from, where I'm from. Monster helped us to stop Ghast. I want to help him, to do something, to... not hurt.”

        I tried to wrap my arms around him, but he was always too big for it. As he started to calm down, I told him that if he was going to go, he better have some new clothes, the old ones get wreaked during his fight with Ghast. I then added that I would need to change things up as well, because I was going with him.
        It didn't take long for me to whip together a new set of clothes for him, we also made a sash from what remained of Wraith's cloak that we found after searching the remains of Ghast's tower. While Animal got ready, I made some additional preparations. When Dynatech fell I gathered a large amount of munitions from their security depot. Grenades, shotgun shells, bullets, etc. But after learning more about Primeran biology, decided to add a special ingredient. If Animal was going to find himself, I was going to find my strength to stand next to him, no matter what comes our way.

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