"From here begins the battle"

Where the Chihuahua once stood, now there was something, that from everything he knew should not be real. It had the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a snake for a tail, the whole thing seemed to defy the laws of evolution.

His instincts screamed at him and he rolled in response, just in time to avoid the snake head as it smashed into the floor in an attempt to attack, Alex was forced to the floor as he was unable to recover properly from the roll.

Looking back up towards the creature he found himself staring directly at the head of the monster. Even though he knew he should try to get up, or at least roll away he found himself to stunned, to shocked to move.

The monster opened its massive jaw, its mouth easily larger than his own head. staring directly at his own death seemed to be enough to kickstart his body as it finally managed to move. But the moment he did, the monster lunged, striking directly at Alex, it got close enough that he could almost smell its breath. Only for the monster to be violently shoved into the wall, almost breaking the cement walls it smashed into.

Alex didn't bother to see what shoved it, instead opting to turn on his heel and run further into the school in an attempt to find another exit.

Sprinting through the winding halls of the unfamiliar school Alex quickly found himself lost because of the unfamiliar layout he was exposed to. Eventually he skidded to a stop, his shoes making a loud squeaking noise as his momentum came to a halt. Looking around Alex was forced to weigh his options and Immediately he concluded that going out a window would be a better option that running through the school like a headless chicken. Turning directly to his right he saw and office, the words 'Mr Brunner' marked on the glass.

Opening the door with a rough jerk he peered inside only to see a man in a wheelchair sitting at a desk. The teacher looked up at Alex in surprise, but Alex himself didn't care that there was someone in the office, he only cared that there was a window he could escape through.

Alex took a step into the office, ignoring the teachers protests as he tried to get to the window when suddenly he felt something sharp pierce his left leg. crying out in pain Alex was ripped out of the office and into the hallway before being lifted by his leg and bashed into the roof like a chew joy. Once gravity re-asserted itself, he came back to earth and hitting the ground with a resounding thud.

His leg was burning, it felt like someone was pouring acid into his veins. 'Venom' he summarized, if the thing had a snake for a tail then it must also have some kind of venom.

Adrenaline was coursing through his veins, it felt like his heart would rip out of his chest with how fast it was beating. Gritting his teeth Alex tried his best to ignore the pain as it started affecting his entire leg. he moved his hands onto the floor, using whatever strength he had left to haul himself across the freshly polished ground. But with every move he made, pain wracked his body and Alex couldn't help but cry out in pain.

Behind him he could hear the monster coming towards him, its paws thudding on the floor as it approached, the snake hissing lowly as it moved closer, like a hunter enjoying the suffering of its prey.

It was only in that moment Alex felt a sense of calming wash over him, he was still very afraid, but his mind felt clearer.

It was almost as though his body refused to give in on a fundamental level. Alex had fought against his whole life, people, feral animals, the weather even his own goddamn circumstances and this was how he was going to die? As a glorified chew joy?! His body moved on its own, fuelled by nothing but rage and frustration as he mentally reached for the calmness, the thing that seemed just beyond his reach and it felt heavy and immovable.

He extended his hand afterwards towards his attacker as he screamed in a combination of exhaustion and determination. It seemed like something was listening as Alex watched something dark sprang up and hurled itself at the monster like a battering ram. The monster wasn't fast enough to dodge as it was sent tumbling over itself with enough force to buckle the metal lockers as it hit the walls with a resounding clang.

Alex didn't have the strength to hold himself up, whatever he did combined with the venoms effects sapped every last morsel of strength he had left and finally he fell back to the ground. The only thing he was able to register was something biting down softly on his shoulder and all he knew was darkness.

The thing that first came to his senses was the biting, vicious cold that immediately forced him awake. The only part of him that wasn't cold was his chest and abdomen, opening his mouth Alex gasped for air, each breath coming out ragged as he took in his surroundings and tried to sit up only to realise that the warmth on his chest was Fang.

The beautiful dog was lying across his body to keep him warm against the cold environment. "Fang" he said, making the dog perk up at the mention of his name, the dogs ears facing towards him, attentive and focused. "I need to get up buddy" Alex spoke gently as he nudged his best friend off of him.

Once the dog complied Alex rolled over onto his chest and using his arms he managed to stand. Only to fall back to his knees when Alex felt a sharp, stabbing pain shoot up from his leg. it was bad enough that he had to grit his teeth to stop himself from crying out in shock. But at least it seemed that whatever venom was in his system seemed to no longer be affecting him.

Small mercies.

Fang must've known Alex was going to have problems standing because the dog moved under his arm and acted as support so Alex could stand. It was only when Alex stood to his full height did, he realise that Fang had changed, the dog was taller and much bigger than before. "You're not a real dog, are you?" Alex asked, summarizing his thoughts "just like how that thing wasn't a real Chihuahua" Alex knew he should have felt scared, that he should be tying to run but another part of him, the more loyal part knew that if Fang wanted him dead, he would definitely be dead.

The smell of iron hitting his nostrils brought him out of his thoughts. Looking down to his leg he saw that there was blood running down it, he needed to treat his wound and stop the bleeding as fast as he could "Alright Fang I'm just going to assume that you can understand everything I'm saying, I need to find something to treat my leg." Alex took a look at his surroundings, he seemed to be behind some kind of building. To his left was a grated fence while on his right was the stone wall belonging to the building.

Luckily it seemed like Fang could understand him as the dog slowly began helping him move around to the front of the building. It felt like he spent hours just getting around the corner but eventually he made it to the front of the building thanks to Fang.

It looked to be some kind of gas station, except it was abandoned and starting to look rundown. Standing up and leaning his weight on his uninjured leg Alex hobbled over to the door and pushed on it, praying that it was unlocked.

The door snapped open, its hinges making a horrible grinding noise due to lack of use and rust over time. Alex fully opened it and limped into the station, Fang following closely behind, keeping a close eye on the teenager.

Inside the station it was almost empty except for a few cans and packets strewn across the floor and sitting on the shelves. If there was a first aid kit, then Alex believed it would probably be behind the counter. Alex limped behind the counter and began to search through every shelf, every counter, every box and every draw he could find. He searched deeply and with gusto but no matter how hard he searched it seemed that everything had been cleared out. Sighing with disappointment Alex leaned against the counter before he felt his leg give out again and he slid down it in a controlled decent. Leaning against the bottom part of the counter he filtered through his options, 'fire maybe?' he thought, perhaps he could stop the bleeding by heating up metal. But he didn't want to start a fire since he could lose control over it.

A gentle thud from the top of the counter drew Alex's thoughts away from fire and towards the source of the sound. Slowly, Alex dragged himself to his feet he peered at the top of the counter just to the right of the cash register. Sitting neatly, was a red first aid kit and on top of it sat a black ring. Picking it up, Alex inspected the item and at first glance it seemed to be a simple band of metal except for a single symbol engraved on the ring. A helmet that looked to be ancient Greek in design if the pictures James showed him were any indication. Shrugging to himself Alex slipped the ring onto his finger before grabbing the first aid kit.

Zipping it open he rummaged through it until he found some bandages and other items for cleaning the wound. Cracking a smile at his fortune and silently thanking whoever was looking after him he pulled up his leg and began to clean the wound, wiping away the blood and ensuring that disinfectant was applied to the opening, it stung a bit but compared to the pain he felt when the wound was made it was nothing. Once that was finished, he used the bandages to seal the wound and ensure it was covered to better stop infection, wrapping the cloth around one final time Alex tied it closed and made sure it would not fall from its position. No one had taught him how to do this properly, but he believed that wound be enough.

It was only when he did the teen finally relax, his shoulders slumping as he leaned against the counter to start processing what had happened. The monster, Fang, the darkness that did what he wanted, none of it made any sense to him. Alex's fists had clenched as he thought back to his near-death experience.

Taking a breath, Alex forced himself to relax his hands and looked down at his palms. If he could really make shadow do what he wanted then shouldn't he be able to do it again? he focused, thinking back to that feeling in the school, that feeling just beyond his reach. Remembering that feeling Alex mentally pulled on it.

At first it was nothing, then he put more willpower into it. then it appeared, barely a wisp of shadow gathered un his palm and swirled calmly in his hand, it was almost serene in a way. With a grunt he forced more shadow to accumulate and stretch, becoming a lance of pure darkness. But the moment he tried to move it shrunk down to the size of a dagger. "guess I need more practise" Alex mumbled as he let his focus fade and the shadow disperse.

Fang barked as he hopped in place, making Alex smile "what do you think? was I cool?" he asked his friend who replied with another happy bark. The teen went to pat the dog but stopped when his stomach growled in hunger. Clutching his stomach, Alex moved his attention to the shelves in the station, he had seen cans and packs of food. Limping around the counter and over to the shelves Alex began to pillage the abandoned station for anything edible.

But everything he found inside the abandoned gas station was expired. It seemed that this station had been closed along time ago, this meant that Alex was going to have to ration those carrots he had found. Slinging his bag around Alex took out a carrot, snapped it into two pieces and gave the larger half to Fang while he munch on the part, he kept for himself.

"So, I have a plan" Alex said as he chewed "I know were not in New York anymore and I assume that going back is a bad idea?" Fang barked in agreement "so then where do we go?"

Fang turned around and made a pose, his right leg in the air and muzzle pointed straight ahead. It was the same kind of pose he would expect from a pointer dog on a hunt.

Alex was quick on the uptake as he finished eating his vegetable. "that way then?" he asked as he walked over to fang and gave a soft pat on the back of the dogs head. "Alright, let's go then" Alex spoke, his voice full of determination as he limped forwards towards the door opening it and leaving the gas station, walking into the cold night air, fang hot on his heels as he went.

It had gotten colder, but Alex knew his clothing would suffice and it wasn't as if he hadn't slept in these kinds of conditions. He took two cautious steps, wary of another attack, then three steps, then four until finally he started walking normally.

So, when fang started growling Alex went alert, he wreathed shadow around his head into the form of a dagger. Only for a hand to roughly grab his hair and fling Alex metres away form the gas station and skidding along the ground.

Thanks to Fang's previous warning and his own climbing skill allowed Alex to use the momentum to expertly roll into a crouch despite how much his legs complained.

"well, well, well, would you look at this, a poor little godling all on his own". A deep arrogant voice grinded out from were he was before. Looking up Alex came face to face with an eight-foot-tall behemoth of muscle and tattoos. In fact, this person looked more like a giant than a man and Alex could say that he would've been afraid of this man if it wasn't for one thing.

His dog was bigger.

Alex's dog had grown again, Fang had become the size of a van instead of a person and his friend looked pissed. The sight of it actually made Alex laugh, something inside him just enjoyed the oblivious look on the giants face.

Eventually through the obliviousness gave way to anger because of Alex's insistent laughter. "What the hell are you laughing at!" the giant practically screamed as he began to pace towards the boy. But the giant stopped when Alex pointed behind the giant and towards Fang who had began to growl.

The giant looked up to see Fang looking down at him, then… chomp.