Chapter Text
It was pretty weird for Ted, all things considered. The young African American kid was at a park, sitting on a bench. Right next to him was an interesting sight: a white fox taller than him, standing on two legs with four tails. The fox's ice-blue eyes were blank as if he were thinking about something. He was wearing black pants and a black coat over a dark blue shirt with some gold lining.
Oh, and he could talk!
"So, apparently I'm supposed to be your partner I guess…" the fox said straightforwardly. Surprising the boy! "Seriously, partner for what!?" Ted called out, thinking the fox man would introduce himself first. "And should you tell me your name instead of what you told me?" The tall fox just gave a stretch from sitting.
"From the looks of it, I don't even remember what my name is supposed to be…" the fox thought, walking back and forth, trying to think what his name was—all the while Ted was getting annoyed from every four tails got in his way. Ted then grabbed something in his pocket, something akin to one of those virtual pet things. Like, how he summoned a monster out of it.
Before he had his cell phone ring, with a familiar face to him. Eventually answering it as he remembered yesterday before everything went wack.
A day earlier.
Ted and his family had come onto a new house, it was pretty good for being a few decades old. And with the mover's help, they were able to move in quickly. The entrance was good, where they could enter without bumping into each other. A living room to the left, and a dining room to the right. A lovely place in a nice neighbourhood.
"It's amazing you got that promotion, Dad!" Ted's older sister, Elisha said as she walked down the stairs and she saw her room. Their father chuckled that everybody was happy about the move. Even if they would miss the old neighbourhood with their old friends.
A few neighbours welcomed them as they packed with housewarming gifts as well, where one with a son the same age as Ted also came to their house. "Hello, you might have been told many times. But welcome to the neighbourhood." The boy said as his mother gave a handshake to them. Doing so the kid introduced himself as Percy.
He wore a sky-blue long-sleeved shirt with dark blue pants and light red sneakers. And both Percy and his mother gave them some housewarming gifts. Such as some books for the shelves, and while they were both kids. Percy got something out of a package and gave it to Ted, saying it was a welcome gift to him as well. "Also, some kind of promotion for his toy company I guess," Percy commented, with some dismissing tone.
Ted looked at the toy he was given, some kind of device that looked like one of those virtual pet toys. Its design was pretty weird, given the toy looked like a light blue torch you see in castles, along with a crystal with a being that looked like the nine-tailed foxes with closed eyes in Japanese tales, even if Ted and his family lived in North America. But from the looks of the fox design, it only has four tails. (The designers probably gave up on that.)
"Yeah, I did see that news on the internet before our move," Ted said as he also gave thanks to his new neighbour, he remembered before his move to a new place was an ad he saw on his phone about the same toy he was given. It was called a Talispod, with the crystal called a Soul doll. Which was a weird name if anybody else would ask him, and the creatures in the Soul Dolls were called Legendz.
Was someone in Percy's parent's workplace trying to sound cool to kids? They need to get with the times! But still, he liked the homecoming gift. Including where some other neighbours helped with the move, where everything was now placed as if they stayed for a while as someone helped with boxes to recycle.
After supper and a nice shower, Ted was in bed in his pyjamas. For a second, he saw the Talispod on his nightstand. Strange, weren't the fox's eyes closed a few hours ago? The eyes went from looking like the fox was sleeping. To a look of determination. This has gotten him kind of curious, but maybe he has been seeing things since moving some stuff into the new house.
With a sigh of exhaustion, Ted went to sleep. As if everything was just going to be a normal day tomorrow since it was Friday. He was thinking of exploring the neighbourhood and a bit of the city. Sure sounds exciting. With some sheep counting, he fell to sleep ready for the days to see. Even if they weren't exactly what he expected.
In the hour of the night, something didn't feel right. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw what wasn't right. His room was completely covered in ice! He breathed heavily, his breath now visible as he got up from his bed. He went straight to the door, trying to open it, despite the frozen knob not working. But he was scared, so it was justified!
There were those icicles on the ceiling, making Ted nervous as if they would fall instantly.
Then he heard something, first it sounded like the cold wind. And then the sound like a finger rubbing on a window, Ted stood still in shock. Slowly turning his head around to see something being worded on his wall. He didn't know what or who was doing it, so he walked to the way of his bed.
Where he saw a foggy figure, writing on the wall. Ted couldn't say anything, as if someone had stolen his voice. There was also something missing in the picture, the Talispod given to him by Percy was nowhere to be seen in his table drawer! Even if they just met, he knew how much it was for his new neighbour's parents about their job with the toy company!
The foggy figure was now gone from hovering over his bed, seeing some words in the form of a question.
Who am I?
Before Ted could speak, other words that were just like the same question as the last, such as 'What am I?' And 'What is my purpose.' The young African American boy was just confused and scared, before turning to another direction. And saw the foggy creature was near him! He could feel the cold coming through the window, where he could have sworn it was spring!
Only to hear the alarm clock ringing, instantly waking him up. And seeing his room back to normal. He was hoping it was a nightmare the pizza Percy brought for supper to them as everybody was tired from moving even with help. Getting up to take a shower, and eat his breakfast. He doesn't know anything about the nightmare, but it did involve the toy given by Percy.
Sometime later, he was walking around the neighbourhood. Greeting some people and introducing himself to people who had time to greet him, He decided to get some EarPods to listen to some music as he decided to jog to a park. But he felt something familiar, Ted got out his Talispod. The fox soul doll gleams, feeling like something is going to happen.
It wasn't until he nearly passed by an ice cream truck with the annoyingly catchy jingle, that he got him out of his thoughts from his nightmare. So, Ted ordered a simple vanilla ice cream cone. Seeing as it was a nice day with a few clouds in the sky, he entered the park as it did look like a good place to relax.
But what he didn't know was that he was being watched by somebody in a hood, despite the noticeable cloak, their dark grey vulpine snout sniffing out in the direction of Ted walking in the park… Wait, what?
"finally found you, hiding are we?" The cloaked being's silent masculine voice commented as he lifted his clawed hands and used a motion as his hand began to be surrounded by snowflakes, giving a sinister smile with an evil plan. "Hope this will do, master."
With Ted, he was simply having a nice time eating his ice cream. But before he could eat the cone, he saw fog surrounding him and he noticed that the people who were at the park never noticed the fog surrounding them as well. As if it only affected him! Ted noticed the air getting colder as well, dropping his ice cream and shivering from the cold as he saw snow and ice covering the park!
"F-first day in a-a new town, and e-everything is getting c-cold!" Ted commented as he shivered, trying to walk, failing as he wasn't prepared for freaky weather coming out of nowhere. "Run!"Ted heard a voice coming from somewhere! He looked around the area to find the source of the voice, only to see a dozen eyes glaring toward him!
The new kid eventually did as he was told by the strange voice told him, and ran he did. But the strange creatures started to chase him! He didn't know what they were, because Ted was screaming for help, but nobody could hear him! He tried to use the environment to slow them down, from trash cans to some tree branches that fell.
Which wasn't good enough, as if the creatures were small. He tried to get his cell phone to call anybody, the police, his family or even Percy as he gave his phone number as well! But due to the freezing temperature, it failed as he had to run. But due to not looking at where he was going, he fell to the ground in the freezing snow from a frozen puddle.
The shadow creatures surrounded Ted, who was getting up to his knees as he examined the creatures. From the looks of them, they were goblins! Beings from fairy tales turned real, everything wasn't making sense. Shivering from the cold, Ted could barely see somebody in the fog coming towards him.
They were probably the ones who somehow summoned these creatures, seeing as the goblins allowed the person to pass. The only feature Ted could see was a fox-like muzzle in the hood, where Ted could feel the presence that they were here for a reason. "It took a while to find you, Saga of Water. Well, ice in particular." The stranger said, making Ted a lot more confused than before! What is the Saga of Water!?
"You see, I summoned the fog to get you to join us in the world between. So no one will stop us, even if you scream." That being said he kneeled to see Ted closer, where he was starting to feel the coldness of the being. "W-what do y-you want?" The young tween asked with fear in his voice, shivering even more as the cold was getting to him now.
The vulpine creature mockingly stroked his chin, looking down at him. "You, have what I need, the soul in that stupid toy of yours." The creature told him, pointing at the Talispod hanging inside Ted's pocket. The young boy picked it out from his pocket, clutching it as if he didn't want to let go.
"call me out" There it was again, that voice inside Ted's mind. Somebody was with him, seeing the fox in the Soul Doll of his Talispod. "Now, be a good boy and give it to me." The creature ordered him softly. Despite the order, Ted clutched his Talispod. Like his life depended on it so nobody, monster or otherwise would take it!
"How do I summon you?" Ted asked inside his head, his breath dying down from exhaustion. "Boy, I demand you to give it to me!" The monster in the dark cloak shouted! Ted didn't look up to the monster, where he oddly now wasn't feeling the cold weather in the area. The young African American tween looked up at the creature with a defiant look!
It made the creature in the purple cloak even angrier! His arms came forward to grab Ted, not wanting to take a no for an answer! "Give it to me you brat!" He shouted in an angry tone, only for Ted to say a simple word.
"REBORN!"
The Soul doll from Ted's Talispod glowed a bright light, making the mastermind push back as a snowstorm surrounded Ted, and the goblins backed away in fear as they were summoned before them. Ted saw the creature land next to him, four tails swaying in the back. Their sleeveless blue shirt with gold lining both black jacket and black pants looked out of place from the snow, where his majestic snow-white fur was something to behold.
The snow-furred four-tailed fox opened his eyes, icy blue eyes staring at the goblins. A few backed away a bit, Ted didn't feel cold anymore somehow. Standing up to see that the creature he summoned was around the size of an older teenager or young adult. "So, ganging up on a defenceless child are we?" The icy blue-eyed Kitsune simply asked the goblins, who were ready to attack him!
Ted looked towards where the hooded figure was standing, yet he saw the being walking away with a limp from the battle as the Goblins jumped above the two of them. Where the Kitsune in blue shirt jumped towards them as well, summoning a sword made of ice. With a single swipe, the goblins that were in front of them disappeared from the ice sword, leaving a dark smoke behind as the goblins raised their weapons!
Ted heard a shout behind him, turning around to see a few goblins attempting to attack him directly! With a shout from Ted, the Kitsune quickly attacked the remaining goblins with his icy sword. They disappeared without a trace as well, with the Kitsune pointing his sword toward the remaining goblins, around four or six to be precise.
Despite the numbers, the goblins screamed in terror as the Kitsune swiftly approached them and destroyed every one of them! Ted was in awe at the tall nine-tailed fox who saved him, the ice sword disappearing. Before the creature went to the boy and held his hand, the Kitsune's face showed a kind face replacing the cold, determined one from before.
"Need some help?" The fox asked Ted as the snowstorm was dying down, the young tween thanked him. And grabbed the kitsune's palm to get off the ground, there was one other problem. How to escape the place the creature in the cloak dubbed the world between. Even if by now, Ted thinks that it sounded like a name from some video game.
"How do we get out of here?" Ted asked the obvious question to the white-furred Kitsune, the African American was now tired of seeing snow everywhere. The Kitsune looked around and sniffed the area, taking a few steps for the way out. Confusing Ted, what could smelling do? But before he could ask anything, the kitsune's four tails were swinging up and down.
"The way out is over there!" The Kitsune called out excitedly as he pointed the way out, and grabbed Ted's arm. Making the boy yelp in surprise as the Kitsune was running pretty fast. Despite how fast they were going, Ted remembered it was the direction the cloaked figure was limping towards. Yet Ted didn't see them as the Kitsune stopped suddenly, like some kind of cartoon character who is looking at something strange.
Struggling not to vomit, Ted looked at the direction the Kitsune was looking. A portal swirling without anything holding it, seeing a tree with a bench under it. He noticed the differences in the dimensions they were in. The tree had some buds and leaves outside of the portal, while the one in the dimension they were currently in just had dead branches.
The Kitsune sniffed again and raised an eyebrow as he was curious about the new smell. "What is this new smell?" The Kitsune asked Ted, who was still trying to process everything that happened. Ted decided that he needed these answers, he had to ask the Kitsune about it as he sniffed the air as well. Where he smelled a familiar scent that made him hungry, his stomach rumbling as he felt it. "I think a vendor is cooking…" Ted told the Kitsune, who smiled as he felt hungry as well.
"Interesting, can you help me with your world please?" The tall Kitsune asked Ted, with his four tails swinging up and down again. And with a sigh of defeat, he checked his wallet. Which was good enough for two hot dogs, looking up to see the four-tailed creature going out already! "Wait!" Ted cried out as he stepped through the portal before it disappeared as they exited the strange dimension.
Ted and the Kitsune exited the portal to the dangerous snow-like dimension, and back to earth as the strange rift closed itself. The young African American tween caught up to the tall fox who saved him. "Look, whatever your name is. There are a whole lot of questions I have!" Ted told the four-tailed fox as the both of them stopped near a vendor making hot dogs.
Said the four-tailed fox looked at Ted, wondering what he wanted to ask about. "Hello there you two, would you like a pair of hot dogs?" The hot dog vendor asked the two of them, when Ted was around, he saw the hot dog vendor giving a friendly smile. While surprised that the vendor wasn't fazed at all when seeing a fox walking on two legs, Ted simply gave up and ordered two hot dogs for both of them with ketchup and two water battles.
When given what Ted ordered from the Vendor, they walked to the bench to eat the hot dogs. "Wow, this is pretty hot." Ted heard the white kitsune's comment when he ate a part of it. Even with the comment, it was pretty quiet as they ate. And the water was good, seeing as Ted ran around in the other world from being chased.
And the conversation they had after is when we're back to the present of the story.
Ted answered his phone, it was Percy calling as he said "Hello?" The African American teen said as he answered the call. "Are you okay!?" The new friend shouted from the phone, the tone of voice filled with concern. The Kitsune looked at Ted's phone with curiosity, pretty much wondering how someone's voice was calling out.
"I'm good now, but you won't believe the morning till noon I had," Ted said. Still figuring out about the strange world, and mythological creatures being real! So he wouldn't know how to question Percy with that statement. "Well, my friend has said something happened at the park. And we need to know where you are!" Percy said over the phone, where Ted raised an eyebrow.
"Well, if you see a white fox with four tails and wearing blue. I'm there." Ted half-joked, eventually after a quick thank you and click from Percy's end. Ted attempted to pocket his phone before the white-furred Kitsune grabbed it to inspect the phone, much to Ted's annoyance at that. "Fascinating!" The Kitsune commented as he tried to poke it with his finger with curiosity.
"Sorry I'm late, you must be the kid Percy befriended yesterday." A voice called out over Ted and the fox. Looking up behind them, where they see a brown-furred werewolf wearing red pants with brown lining, a golden necklace, and his maroon eyes looking down on the both of them. The Kitsune was waiting to see if the werewolf was a friend or foe, as he gave the werewolf a cold (pun not intended!) stare.
The werewolf gave a light chuckle as he landed on the ground next to them, and looked directly at the Kitsune with a look of amusement. "Relax bud, I'm here with Percy. Your neighbour I might add." The werewolf commented as they saw Percy sprinting towards the trio, and stopped next to the werewolf. "So I see the two of you met Lykos huh?" Percy commented as he saw the four-tailed Kitsune for the first time.
"So, the two of you must want some answers. I'm guessing?" Percy questioned the two, with the Kitsune nodding. While Ted was ready to explode for justified reasons. "Yes, mind telling me why you gave me a toy that allows me to summon a mythological creature in real life? And why I was spirited away to another dimension!?" He shouted as Percy gave an embarrassed grin with an ashamed look on his face.
somewhere in another place
In another realm, the being leaned on the rocky wall. Their cloak laying next to them, showing the look they had. He was a Kitsune as well, only unlike Ted's partner. He had a dark grey fur, dark blue markings on his face. His glowing gold eyes filled with exhaustion from the brat's Legendz partner coming out of that stupid kids toy!
His clothes in light and dark purple, the ends of his shirt and pants torn. He cursed under his breath as he got up, his eyes now filled with malice. "I'm never giving up, just you wait." He declared as he began to walk into the deeper part of the realm.