RAWR: (Yeah, it's one of those days).
Chapter nine! Yay! This one may seem a little weird...I dunno, I thought it was weird when I was typing it. Ah well, whatev. Lemme know what you think!
Odd and Ulrich stood side by side, staring up at the massive monster that loomed over them. For a moment or two the sides just sat there, glaring at one another. Then Odd heaved a sigh, turning to look at Ulrich.
"You know," he said, getting the boy's attention, "I don't know why, but I was thinking that when you and Yumi arrived, we would beat this thing easy and move on with our lives. But now that just you and me are left, I'm beginning to think I was wrong."
"Shut up Odd," Ulrich answered with a small glare, which, for reasons unknown to Odd, caused the blonde to grin. And then the Wulf fired a laser between the two, effectively squashing the moment.
Ulrich and Odd both jumped away from the attack. Ulrich spun to face the monster, raising both his swords. "Supersprint!" he shouted, speeding towards the creature and lunging at its throat. The Wulf didn't let him get the hit though, using one of its large paws to sweep Ulrich away. But while this stopped Ulrich's attack, it left an opening for Odd's.
The cat warrior fired off two arrows, both of which just barely missed the Wulf's silver eye causing the monster to turn its attention to Odd. Attention that was quickly drawn back to Ulrich as the warrior attacked the monster from behind. With an angry roar the Wulf spun around to face Ulrich, presenting Odd with an opportunity.
With his sharp claws the blonde could easily scramble up the Wulf's back, giving him the perfect opening to hit the Wulf's large eye. Happy to have found such a brilliant plan, Odd crouched down, preparing to spring forward.
Not so fast Odd.
Odd froze, eyes widening at the voice. Slowly he turned to see who it was who had addressed him, and gave a start at what he saw.
Sitting behind Odd was a large black cat with bright red eyes. Hello Odd, the cat said, a fanged grin on his face. It's nice to see you again.
"Who are you?" Odd asked tersely, raising his arm and aiming his arrow launcher at the cat.
Who am I? the cat asked. I am a friend Odd. Odd shook his head.
"I don't remember you."
From what I hear, you don't remember much at allthe cat responded. But I am a friend, and if you let me, I can help you remember me.
"How?' Odd asked, his arm lowering a little. Even though he didn't want to trust this cat, the lure of memories was very tempting.
Let me show you. The cat stepped forward, coming to stand right in front of Odd. Crouch down, he commanded. And against his better judgment, Odd did as he was told. When he was level with the black cat, the animal sat, reaching up and placing a paw against the blonde's chest. Odd felt a strange pressure in his chest at the touch, and then he was suddenly assaulted with memories.
The girl, Yumi, throwing one of her fans at him.
A boy with wild dark hair running at him, swinging at him with a massive sword.
A girl with long black hair, bringing her staff like weapon around to hit him in the face.
The boy, Ulrich, watching as Odd fell into the digital sea below.
Xana standing beside him, while Ulrich stood across from him, weapons in hand.
Odd gasped, pulling away from Xana as the memories filled his mind. Wide eyed, Odd looked up at Xana.
Now do you believe me? he asked. Odd hesitated a moment, turning around to look at Ulrich, who was still a little busy with his Wulf friend. He seemed to not have even noticed that Xana had arrived and was speaking with Odd. Well? the large cat asked.
"I- are those memories true?" Odd asked, reluctant to believe these people would have done this to him. Xana nodded solemnly.
Yes, they are. These people are not your friends, they seek only to destroy you and I.
"But they seemed nice," Odd said. "I can't believe they'd hate me."
That is there plan, trick you into thinking they are on your side after stealing away your memories.
"They stole my memories!?" Odd asked, shock written across his face. Again, Xana nodded. "Even- even Michel? And Lauren? And the others, they were in on it to?"
Yes, Xana said, I had hoped they could join us, but it seems the others have intervened. Odd looked down at the grass, his emotions in turmoil. Adelle, Michel, Terence, and Lauren, he liked these four, he trusted them. He didn't want for them to be on different sides. Xana seemed to sense Odd's thoughts.
They are not completely lost to us, he said, regaining Odd's attention. We may still be able to save them. But to do so, you must trust me, and come with me. Will you? Odd thought about Xana's question.
Honestly, he wasn't sure if he trusted Xana. But he did know he didn't want his friends to be turned against him. And so he looked Xana in the eye and said, "Yes." The big cat grinned, his eyes seeming to glow brighter.
Perfect.
--
Ulrich dodged away from yet another round of laser fire, ducking behind a tree to get away from the brown Wulf on his heels. As he crouched down to catch his breath, Ulrich tried to figure out why Odd had stopped backing him up. Ulrich peeked out from behind his tree, to see what his friend had gotten up to. What he saw shocked him.
Standing over by the tower was Odd, and sitting in front of him was a familiar large black cat.
"Xana," Ulrich hissed, the grip on his sword tightening. Forgetting about the Wulf lurking about, Ulrich stepped out from behind his tree and shouted to Odd, grabbing the blonde's attention. Odd stared at Ulrich, not sure what he should do. He looked to Xana, who stepped forward to stand in front of him.
We're leaving, the cat told Odd. He then melted into a cloud of black smoke, which engulfed Odd and swept him away.
Ulrich stared wide eyed at the black cloud that disappeared around the tower and into the forest sector. Not willing to see his friend taken away so soon after finding him, Ulrich immediately launched into a Supersprint and gave chase.
"Lauren, has Jeremy arrived yet?" Ulrich shouted as he ran.
"Not yet," Lauren answered. "Why, what's happened?"
"Xana just showed up, and he took Odd."
"Who?" Lauren asked, but her question went unanswered as Ulrich rounded a corner and caught sight of a large black cloud in front of him. Ulrich felt a rush of adrenalin at the thought of getting his friend back and moved a little faster. He was almost close enough to touch the cloud when something unexpected happened.
From the cloud came what was unmistakably one of Odd's laser arrows, which hit Ulrich square in the chest, bring Ulrich's sprint to an abrupt stop and tossing the boy to the ground.
Ulrich looked up from his place on the ground, giving his head a shake. The hit had caught Ulrich completely by surprise, leaving Ulrich both hurt and confused.
He couldn't figure it out. Only a few minutes ago he and Odd had been fighting side by side, and now the blonde was attacking him? Xana must have taken control of him again, it was the only explanation that made sense.
"Um, Mr. Stern?" A voice asked, getting Ulrich's attention.
"Yes Lauren?" Ulrich asked, standing up.
"Um, I think I should warn you, there's something behind you."
"Behind me?" Ulrich repeated, slowly turning around. What he saw made his already bad day get worse.
For standing behind him was the forgotten Wulf, crouched down and growling, its cannon exposed.
Ulrich didn't even get a chance to move to defend himself before the monster fired, devirtualizing him.
