A Fox's Rescue

by Varnell, Brandon

  They stood outside of the small landing strip near the Pnév̱ma Clan resort. At his back, the airplane’s engines hummed with life, a whining of turbines that he recognized as pre-launch prepping. Iris was already inside.

  From where he stood, Kevin could see the damage done to the resort. Catastrophic didn’t even begin to accurately describe it. Buildings had been reduced to rubble. The once magnificent structure that had been where guests resided looked like it had been gutted. Craters and pockmarks covered the ground, along with several deep chasms as if Thor’s hammer had split the earth. He could only imagine the kinds of battles that had taken place there, battles he had missed because of his own fight.

  “I really should be going with you,” Kotohime said. The four-tails stood before him, hands clasped in front of her, thumbs twiddling. “It isn’t right to send you and Iris-sama off to infiltrate China all by yourselves.”

  Kevin gave the woman a smile that he didn’t truly feel. “Iris and I will be fine. We’ve dealt with plenty of dangerous situations.”

  “That is true.” Kotohime’s smile matched the one he gave her. “However, I fear none of the predicaments that you, Iris-sama, and Lilian-sama have been in will have prepared you for this. You aren’t fighting yōkai in the human world, but traveling into the heart of enemy territory. And your opponent is not a single kitsune, but an entire clan; the head of which is the Bodhisattva, the most powerful Celestial Kitsune to have graced our world. I fear… I am afraid this will prove to be a far greater challenge than you or I could imagine.”

  “I really wish you wouldn’t say things like that.” Kevin felt as if Kotohime had just dropped a grand piano on his shoulders. Her apologetic smile did little to help soothe his worry.

  “My apologies, Kevin-sama. It seems my worry is making me say things that I shouldn’t, ufufufu…”

  When Kotohime raised a hand to hide her smile, Kevin knew that it was because she didn’t want him to see the trembling of her lips.

  “It’s fine, I guess,” he mumbled.

  “Hey, Stud!” Iris poked her head out of the airplane, her scowl letting him know that she was raring to go. “What’s taking you so long? Come on!”

  “I’ll be there in just a second!” Kevin shouted back. He turned to Kotohime, about to tell her goodbye one last time, when movement behind the yamato nadeshiko caught his attention.

  Delphine Pnév̱ma looked pristine, as always. Despite having only a toga adorning her frame, the woman’s beauty remained awe-inspiring. Then again, Kevin wondered if perhaps her outfit had something to do with her looks. This was a woman who did not need fancy gowns and opulent jewelry to look good. If anything, wearing extravagant outfits and expensive necklaces would have probably detracted from her natural beauty. Walking behind her was the ever-faithful Daphne.

  Delphine walked toward him with delicate, feminine footsteps, stopping just a foot or two from him.

  “I am glad to see that I did not miss you leaving.” Delphine’s smile, while wondrous, did not ease Kevin’s mind. The way she clasped her hands together, pushing up her incredibly prominent bust, also did not help him. “I have something to give you before you leave.”

  Kevin really had to wonder about the women of this clan when Delphine reached into her cleavage. No other group of females he knew used their Extra Dimensional Storage Spaces so much. It was like they got a kick out of making people’s eyes pop out of their heads by hiding stuff between their bazongas.

  “Here you are.” Delphine held something out for him to take—a necklace. It was rather pretty, he had to admit. The chains were made of some silvery substance that looked like silver but was far too lucid. Attached to the chains was a gem, its multiple facets glowing with a strange inner light that made him think of ghostly flames.

  “I’m not really one for wearing jewelry.” Despite saying this, Kevin still took the necklace. Kotohime had once told him that one did not refuse the Pnév̱ma matriarch. Ever. He didn’t want to appear rude or ungrateful, so he grabbed the offered item. The smile he received let him know that he had made the right decision.

  “I expected as much,” she confessed. “However, I do suggest you wear this. I personally made that gem myself. It should help you when you reach the Shrine Gate that leads to Saint’s Chariot.”

  Kevin held the necklace out, watching as the sunlight hit it. Refractions upon the surface caused the inner fire to shine even more brilliantly. As he continued watching, he almost thought he could make out a face inside of the fire. It must have been a trick of the light.

  “How is this going to help me?”

  Delphine’s eyes twinkled with a mischief that made him shudder. “That, my dear Kevin Swift, is something you will discover when you reach the Shrine Gate.”

  Kevin didn’t really understand what she had meant by that, but he supposed it just meant he would be finding out when he reached the Shrine Gate.

  A sudden jerk knocked Kevin from his thoughts. It took him a second to realize the van had stopped. The guy who’d been driving them, some random human of Chinese descent, turned his head to look at them, his dark eyes glazed over, a sign that Iris’s enchantment was working.

  He said something in Chinese. Kevin resigned himself to not understanding a word this guy said. He really hated not knowing what everyone was saying.

  After this is over, I’m going to take lessons on how to speak Mandarin.

  “Thank you.” Iris smiled at the enchanted man and blew him a kiss. At the same time, the van’s back door opened. Kevin waited until the others had disembarked before exiting himself. He watched as the second enchanted man closed the door and entered the passenger's side. His eyes didn’t leave the van until it had driven off.

  “You’re sure those people aren’t going to rat us out once your enchantment wears off?” he asked Iris.

  “Don’t worry, Stud.” Arms crossed under her chest, Iris did her best to reassure Kevin. “That enchantment I cast on them was special. After it wears off, they’ll forget ever meeting us, so there’s no need to fret.”

  “That’s good.” Kevin released a relieved breath.

  With his worry abated, Kevin took a moment to identify their surroundings. The place they found themselves in made him truly feel like he was in China. Every building was surrounded by high walls that blocked all but the gabled roofs. Most roofs, he noticed, had a single incline, but several of the more prominent structures had two or more.

  The roadways did not hold the appearance of traditional blacktop roads that he was used to. Nor did they have the one or two-way appearance. All of the roads were large, more reminiscent of plazas than actual roads. Cars drove freely down them while people walked around these sections. The roads themselves looked more like cobblestone streets. He did see a few dirt roads, and several paths that trailed off into the distance, but that was about it.

  “Do you know where we are supposed to go, Kevin Swift?” Phoebe asked.

  “Uh…”

  “… You don’t, do you?” Polydora sneered at him.

  “Why don’t we try that big temple over there?” Euryale pointed off toward something in the distance.

  Kevin followed her finger. The first thing he saw was a series of steps that led up to a raised platform upon which a towering structure sat, a gigantic multi-story building composed of sweeping roofs, bright colors, and a beautiful design. Being a multi-story building of traditional Chinese design, each story had its own tiny roof, with the top level having a sweeping roof that appeared to be made of gold. The curvature of the roof caused the edges to curl upwards. Sitting upon each edge was a traditional Chinese dragon. Three cones shot up from the top, and two men stood in between them. The entire thing reminded Kevin a lot of those structures he’d seen in Dynasty Warriors Orochi, an awesome game based very loosely off The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

  On a side note, Kevin’s favorite character was most definitely Zhao Yun.

  On another side note, he and Lilian often ar
gued over who the better character was. Her favorite was Zhuge Liang.

  On a unanimous decision, the group made their way through the congested walkways toward the large building. There were a lot more people around than Kevin expected. He guessed they’d come to see the Ta’er Monastery, which Kevin heard was a pretty big tourist attraction.

  The monastery itself consisted of more than just one building. Kevin and the others surveyed the area to see many buildings, all built in the same style, albeit, not as grand as the one they were heading toward. Along the way, Kevin was given a tour guide brochure by a young lady who, thank the gods, spoke English.

  “You new here,” she had said. “This tell you about Ta’er Monastery and surrounding area.”

  “Um, thank you.” Kevin smiled at the woman, who smiled back before handing out several more brochures to other people. He and his companions continued on their way, and Kevin unfolded the brochure to see that it was mercifully written in English.

  “So, what’s that thing say?” Iris asked, leaning into him in her effort to read what he was holding.

  “I, too, am curious to know what it says.” Phoebe came up on his other side. She and Iris made eye contact for a moment, and Kevin thought he saw sparks emitting from the pair’s eyes. He ignored them—and the feeling of Polydora’s killing intent—in favor of reading from the brochure.

  “As the religious activity center of both monks and followers of the Yellow Hat Sect (also named Gelugpa Sect, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism), the Ta'er Monastery (Kumbum Monastery) is located in Huangzhong County, Qinghai Province, 25 kilometers (about 16 miles) away from the capital city of Qinghai Province - Xining.”

  “In order to commemorate Tsongkhapa, founder of the Yellow Hat Sect, the Ta'er Monastery was built in 1577 more than 150 years after his death. Now it is considered a sacred place in China.”

  “In the Tibetan language, Ta'er Monastery is called 'gongben,’ which means '10,000 figures of Buddha.’ During its long 400 years of history, it has gradually become a place of interest for its distinct ethnic color and native style. The whole area covers more than 144 thousand square meters with mountains surrounding it. It has 9,300 rooms and 52 halls. The Ta'er Monastery is a group of fine buildings in a combination of both the Han and Tibetan styles of architecture on the mountain slopes. It has lofty temples and halls rising one upon another. The palace buildings, Buddhist halls, sleeping quarters, as well as the courtyards echo each other and thus enhance the beauty of the whole area.”

  “Among so many buildings, the Great Hall of the Golden Roof and the Great Hall of Meditation are the main parts.”

  “As the center core building, the Great Hall of the Golden Roof is in the middle of the monastery. Inside the hall, there is a silver tower built to commemorate Tsongkhapa. In the ark behind the hall, the treasures of the Yellow Hat Sect are stored. They are considered very precious relics of the Ta'er Monastery.”

  “The Great Hall of Meditation is the authoritative institution for the religious organization of the monastery. It is the biggest structure and lies rightly in front of the Great Hall of the Golden Roof.”

  After he finished reading, Kevin folded up the brochure.

  “That was really informative,” Thoe said.

  Kevin paused with the brochure halfway to his pocket. “Would you like to read more of this?”

  “Can I?”

  “Sure.”

  “Thank you!”

  “I’m guessing the place we need to head to is the Great Hall of the Golden Roof,” Iris deduced as Kevin gave the brochure to Thoe.

  “That would be my guess as well,” Kevin agreed.

  “Such an ostentatious-sounding place can only be that large building Euryale pointed out earlier.” Phoebe crossed her arms and nodded several times.

  “Agreed.”

  The group set off. They walked down the walkway toward the Great Hall of Meditation. It greeted them, a magnificent structure made of long and short pillars. Carved upon their surface were beautiful patterns. Colorful felts swathed upon them enhanced the building’s visual appeal. Several embroideries and long narrow flags acted as festive decorations. Hanging from all four walls were lively and unique pictures. According to the brochure he’d read, they told the story of Buddhism and religious life. A pure gold tower stood in the hall, supposedly containing the ashes of Tsongkhapa, a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism.

  Iris whistled. “Wow, this is a pretty fancy building for a simple hall.”

  Kevin had to agree. “It is kind of ostentatious. Aren’t Buddhists supposed to believe in humility and all that? This doesn’t really strike me as humble.”

  They walked into the Great Hall of Meditation, which led them into a massive courtyard. As they entered the courtyard, however, something odd happened.

  The world around them seemed to waver. Distortions reminiscent of heat waves appeared before their eyes. Not just their eyes, but everyone’s eyes. It looked like reality itself was being bent by something. Cracks began appearing within the air. Giant splits in the sky, as if an abominable monster was tearing a hole through this universe, like one of the Old Ones was coming to wreak havoc on this world. A sound akin to shattering glass filled the air. Several people covered their ears. Kevin and his companions looked up, and that’s when they saw it.

  “W-what the heck?” he mumbled.

  It hovered in the air, a massive piece of floating landmass. Gigantic barely began to describe the floating island, for that’s all it could be, an enormous island silently hovering in the sky. If Kevin had to describe it, he would have said that it looked like someone had split a mountain in half, inverted it, and then made it float.

  “What… is that?” Phoebe asked in a mixture of awed reverence and fear.

  “That?” Iris took a shaky breath. “That is Saint’s Chariot, the island fortress of the Bodhisattva and home of the Shénshèng Clan.”

  “Why can we see it?” Kevin asked. “Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of barrier that makes it invisible?”

  “There is.” Iris appeared uncertain. “Or at least, there should be. I don’t know what’s happening.”

  “Everyone else can see it, too,” Menippe pointed out.

  Indeed. All the other people present were gawking and pointing at the giant floating island that had suddenly appeared in the sky. Some were also taking pictures.

  That’s not good, he concluded silently. If people actually have proof of yōkai existence… He didn’t want to think about the kind of chaos that would bring.

  “Come on,” Kevin said. “We need to hurry up and find that Shrine Gate. The sooner we get up there, the sooner we can rescue Lilian.”

  Kevin began moving, the others following quickly behind him. His strides took him to the Great Hall of the Golden Roof. Its colorful gates greeted him. They were of differing lengths, and carved into their surfaces were a variety of floral patterns, which were painted with multifarious fresh colors. The surfaces of the walls were covered in green ceramic tiles and embedded with countless pearls, agates, and gems. It made the entire wall sparkle.

  He entered the hall quickly, his feet tapping along the concrete floor. He ignored the many works of art around him, the intricate paintings that decorated the walls. His mind didn’t stray to the simple yet majestic columns that he strode past. Nothing but getting to that Shrine Gate was on his mind.

  It didn’t take long to reach what he suspected was the Shrine Gate. The strange silver tower glowed with an unusual, otherworldly light. Embedded into its surface like fragments of a jigsaw was an incalculable number of jewels. Ten layers of pure white hada wrapped around it like silken gloves, enhancing the grandness of its majestic presence. Situated before the tower, golden and silver lights and old flasks were displayed, along with more than five thousand small golden figures of Buddha surrounding them.

  “So… is this the Shrine Gate?” Iris peered at the tower, which stood several heads and shoulders above them, trying to discern
the indiscernible.

  “I… I think so,” Kevin mumbled as he, too, tried to determine what they should do now. “At least, it should be. I can’t imagine the Shrine Gate would be anything else.”

  “If this is the Shrine Gate, then how are we supposed to activate it?” Phoebe asked.

  “Shrine Gates can normally only be activated by the kitsune of a specific clan,” Iris informed the other girl. “For example, the Shrine Gate of the Pnév̱ma Clan can only be activated by members of the Pnév̱ma Clan and a few select allies. If this really is the Shrine Gate to Saint’s Chariot, then only a member of the Shénshèng Clan should be able to activate it.”

  Saying more than simple words could, Phoebe’s frown was a reflection of her innermost thoughts.

  “So you are telling me that we have traveled all this way for nothing?”

  “I didn’t say that.” Iris shook her head. “Just that activating this gate without a member of the Shénshèng Clan being present isn’t possible.”

  While Iris and Phoebe spoke, Kevin walked up to the tower. He studied it, this giant monolith whose opulence seemed more like an expression of arrogance than anything else. He didn’t know much about Buddhism, but this monument of extravagance didn’t really strike him as a humble shrine to honor a man who taught humility to others.

  When he got closer to the tower, a light flared up on Kevin’s chest. Looking down revealed the necklace within his shirt lighting up like a beacon. Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out the gem.

  Light emitted from inside of it, impossibly bright. A plethora of refractions shone with a brilliant luminosity. Kevin had to close his eyes. Loud, feminine shrieks came from behind him, but they sounded muffled, as if they were coming from a great distance. The light soon died down, but spots in his vision kept Kevin from seeing for several more seconds.

  Upon cracking his eyes open, Kevin saw that the tower in front of him had changed. No longer a tower, it had become a torii, or what appeared to be the Chinese equivalent of one. The large entrance stood before him, a towering archway made of some type of silvery substance that he couldn’t identify. It glistened in the light, and he could see images etched into its surface. There, a nine-tailed fox sitting regally on the ground. Over there, a group of humans and yōkai worshiping a nine-tailed fox standing on a cliff above them. Numerous scenes played out along the column-like pillars that supported the ornate lintel.