Gembounds had come and gone, but Fisher had survived. He had thrived in Polaris, along side his two best friends. The wiry noodle had caused death, and reverted it-- Deus' gemstone was nestled in his den, growing, coming back to life. He had set things right, and today, he was ready to prepare for the next disaster. For the caves were not always calm and quiet, no. More often than not, disaster struck violently, taking life in the shadows and breaking those who stood too close to the light.

When Deus returned from the dead, Fisher wanted to be ready. Arkrael had prepared him a suit of armor, and although it was cycles old, it held firmly. The metal adorned his body and hid his gem and most of his scars, his pelt a battlefield that he wore with pride. He could feel the electricity dance on his skin to the metal, a storm brewing deep inside of the mustelid. It was hard to turn his attention from the Spire, but he knew practicing there would lead only to disaster. Today, he would find a remote, quieter part of Polaris, to hone his skills.

Fisher had the feeling things were about to break once more. The caves were on the precipice of being cast into hell and he could feel it in the air, in the way things had slowed down once more. It was like a tidal wave, the way the caves worked, and when the surf pulled back its farthest-- that, that was when the tsunami hit. Though the ground was stable under his feet, as he bound through the cracked stone floor, he knew the storm was coming.

Something caught the attention of the bounding, metal-laced noodle and he froze, fur puffing up under his armor. The site before him caught at his throat like a perfectly thrown lasso. There was a towering gembound just ahead, a pale creature that he had only remembered from vague, shadowy memories. In his ears, there was a dog barking, a distant memory. The static in his fur surged and he tried to calm his heart.

So many gembounds had gone missing as of recently, so for any of them to return... It simply didn't make sense. But this was not any other deer that he knew-- no, Clover had turned into a demon, and Hasira was a monster that had been put down-- no... This was someone from the past, someone who should have been dead.

But the dead never stay dead here, Fisher caught himself thinking as he stepped forward, dumbfounded, struggling to find his voice. It had been so long since the time of darkness when he had been born, when he was just a tiny noodle struggling to understand the world.

He could not remember her name but he remembered her voice, telling him not to bark so loudly. He remembered playing with his first barkfriend, and he couldn't shake the playful woofs from his mind. The dancing hooves and paws as they played, three bizarrely different creatures in the dim glow of crystals, back before the generator has been brought back to life.

If she was here, perhaps the other... Perhaps his very first barkfriend... had also returned. Were they returning, all those that had first been lost?

As Fisher's magic worked to soothe his nerves and slow his heart beat, the noodle held up his head and stared out from under his helmet, voice cracking as he found the words.

"Is it... Really you? It's Fisher, remember?"