ORIGIN

Leon would never forget the sound.

When the world stopped and everything was stunned, and all he knew was wavering heat. The air had an ethereal glimmer to it. Strange, and the heat, it wasn't like his own. He was afraid of it.

It was just a routine patrol. Leon had gotten back to his feet and was intent on proving himself to his groupmates, proving that he was useful, that he cared, that he wanted to protect them. He wasn't just a vicious monster driven by fury - the bear was ruled by his emotions, and it was his most fatal flaw, but above all that anger, he loved. Everyone and everything deserved to be listened to and considered. They all deserved respect and love, and he had love to spare. He wanted to show them all that he wasn't selfish.

Orion was a familiar place to him, but since his return to Pisces, the bear hadn't seen the starry room. He feared that maybe Zetos would be lost in the darkess and stars, but even the leopard had returned to him, giving him no reason to visit the starry room again. There were quiet rumors that maybe this was where Cancer had fled, and that was part of the reason why the bear had refrained from taking that tunnel, for fear that he would see the feline again - fear that he would loathe Leon for what he'd done, fear that they would fight, and maybe this time, Cancer's blade would land true. He avoided the room until his better judgment convinced him otherwise. He was a weak scout if he couldn't bear to complete his patrol, so he swallowed the fear and went.

It served him right, it really did. He'd fallen into a sense of security after wandering the familiar broken city, remembering the pale crumbling walls and the gleam of crystals in the ceiling. It had been fine. He was safe.

Then the pop- a memory. Leon's eyes widened and his heart froze, snapping his head in the direction of the sound. He couldn't feel the heat, but it was close - waves of radiation again stinging his skin, and Leon snarled, shaking his head. The second pop, and it was gone. It was replaced by shouting. An unfamiliar voice, and the smell of burning hair, Cancer, and someone else. The bear caught his breath and stared down the street, towards the throne. His curiosity had gotten the better of him - he knew the risk of plunging into a fight. He knew the risk of getting caught in the cross fire, but when his emotion suddenly spiked, fear and anger and worry burning at the memory, he couldn't control it.

As he ran, the second pop came. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking the irritation away. Then it was over. Just in time for him to emerge from the street and his massive limbs to thrust him towards the warring Gembounds. There was Cancer, familiar, loathing - and a three headed dog standing over a young leopard. Leon didn't know what was happening, and his rational mind told him that he should have stood by the cerberus defending the youth. Maybe it was instinct and muscle memory, maybe it was a secret desire for redemption, he didn't know. The bear galloped and approached from Cancer's side, rising up to his hind legs and erupting in a thunderous roar. Emotions flared, attempting to bring light to the onslaught, but only a dim glow came from the depths of his throat. Maybe a failed spell cast. Maybe a precursor to the fire that would come if the three headed dog persisted his assault.

There was another pop, a heated sensation across his skin as he tried to right himself. Cancer spasmed, muscles betraying him, flinching as if to warn him of the damage they'd endured. More coughing, more blood- and then a familiar voice, familiar furred paws entering his vision, as blurred as it was. Leon.

A mixture of anxiety and rage flooded through him. Then, before it could sputter forth, his roar strengthened the anxiety and introduced confusion. He looked up slowly at the towering bear, his gleaming throat, then back at the dog- and for just a second, he was grateful. The cat shuffled himself, half-dragging, half scurrying, around and behind Leon, every movement uncomfortable and frankly painful at times. There, he allowed himself to collapse.

He laid there, panting, for just a moment before looking up at the dog's three heads. The look in his eye was feral, terror-filled. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Speech"

It seemed the bear had arrived just in time. The tumultuous roar that swept from his lips echoed through the vast starry room, consuming the three creatures before him; Leon wavered on his hind legs, sharp orange eyes pinned to the cerberus as Cancer crawled behind him. Even after his interruption, there was no latent attempt to draw out the assault. Even the three-headed dog had reeled back at the popping and merely hovered over the creature he guarded. A stillness had risen in the quiet, and Leon slowly leaned forward, landing his front paws back on the ground.

The snarl had never left his lips, nor did he look away from the cerberus and the small feline beneath him. Leon didn't know what had happened here, but he did know that he was going to end it. Nobody else would endure the pain that he had to. Nobody would feel the teeth of the cerberus, and nobody would feel the burn of Cancer's radiation; this ended now. "Leave." The bear spat, unyielding before the three-headed dog. The command was meant for him to take his charge, too; the two of them had no place here any more, and if they thought they did, they would have to deal with Leon - though still recovering from his own battle wounds, he was in far greater shape than all of them at present.

Though later he would be honestly very surprised by Leon's behavior, at that moment, all he could think about was the pain and discomfort- and the humiliation of being saved by his long-time rival. But why?

"Speech"

Leon's expression was unchanging. It remained hardened and serious, staring at the cerberus with a stony facade that suggested the bear wasn't about to change his demeanor any time soon. They both relented, and Leon snarled again. The cerberus seemed to think that Leon was attempting to do some injustice to the newborn and himself, but Leon merely shook his head, and at the threat to attack the bear grunted and slammed his paws on the ground. "NO! No more fighting!" He shouted, his voice rising in anger and the course hair all along his spine bristled. "Take her and go!" Leon jerked his head towards the city that expanded around the throne. He didn't care if they left Orion or stayed among the buildings, he just needed them away from Cancer; the feline would hardly be able to move on his own, and Leon wasn't about to start dragging him around lest he claim the bear was trying to murder him again.