After a long bloody time I have finally finished this chapter to my liking (mostly). I thank all of you guys who have Favorited this story and follow it, that means a lot to me and gives me more reason to write. I also thank those of you who put me on their Author Alerts which is awesome. There may be references I throw into this story from time to time and I'll give shout outs to those who end up getting them correctly. Longest chapter yet at 9185 words, which is 14 pages for my OppenOffice document.
As a heads up my writing style has changed since the first time I put this chapter together. Also this story is a lot more flushed out than when I started it roughly three years ago, both in characters and world building. I am going to be posting a RWBY self insert soon and I am piecing together a Halo fiction. Feel free to ask me questions and I will try to answer them in a timely manner. Read, review, and enjoy...
Mad Dog had left for some part of the mountains to take a nap before he came back to the compound a few hours later with dirt attempting to shade his clothing. While walking through the space between the arena and the two buildings that housed either the Pandoras or their Limiters the werewolf could see a desire to reject what was before their eyes. For one Mad Dog could sense that some of them were getting used to the idea that a male could be more powerful then them in both respects. Though he could tell that others didn't like the idea one bit. However he knew that they had to follow orders whether they liked it or not. He couldn't help but taste the fear he sensed about him from the humans he passed. Either for the sheer amount of power he had or for his ability to control electricity, an easy weakness for him to exploit if he ever wanted to.
Mad Dog could understand their fear since he was a sudden appearance of something most of the Limiters and Pandoras didn't fully comprehend. He quickly dismissed his train of thought in favor of paying more attention to the buildings around him. Both make shift barracks were a dull gray in color and hastily constructed on concrete with patches of metal here and there to cover the windows if one was to hit a switch in the buildings. People got out of Mad Dog's way as he headed for a small shed behind the two barracks. It was a little run down with rusted metal and broken windows, but the werewolf had been the one to pick it as a make shift room that contained his stuff. The old, but reinforced, metal door creaked as Mad Dog pushed it open and entered.
The inside was a near reflection of the outside save for the box Mad Dog had brought with him from Halion and the bed in a far corner. Opposite of the bed was a shower stall since Mad Dog hadn't wanted to risk electrocuting Limiters unintentionally if he took a shower in their barracks shower room. The werewolf was glad the human generals believed that he could control electricity and followed suggested safety precautions, or possibly Sister Margret had arranged it herself. Mad Dog walked over to the bed where a dark green duffel bag was. On one side of the full bag was a paper tapped to the side with hand writing on it. The paper contained a message that read:
Here is the surprise Satellizer and me decided on since you seemed to wear nothing but the same cloths everyday. So we went and got you some new clothing while you were sleeping. Unfortunately we've got some things to do so we can't be there to see you open the bag, but we hope you like the surprise.
-Satellizer and Arnett
Mad Dog smiled. "Well that was thoughtful." He commented to himself before taking the piece of paper off the bag and opening it. There was a fair amount of clothing in the bag mainly consisting of pants and shirts, though Mad Dog could see a two packages of undergarments as well as a package of short socks. The werewolf was thankful that the two Pandoras, as he assumed that both of them had shopped at the same time for his new clothing, had chosen to go with darker colors rather than brighter ones like pink or light green like he had feared might happen. He rummaged through the bag to put together a clean outfit. Mad Dog chose a pair of black cargo pants and a charcoal colored shirt to start off with. The werewolf decided to pick the rest of the outfit after getting washed up. Within minutes he showered and put on the clean clothing. As he stretched his arms over his head a growl echoed from his stomach and the werewolf sighed. At that moment Mad Dog remembered that he had forgotten to tell Sister Margret that he ate more food than a squad of hungry Pandoras. Would they have enough food for the werewolf or would he have to hunt?
Shaking his head Mad Dog opened the metal container and pulled out a power bar of sorts from it. Closing the container with one hand he used his other hand to put the power bar in his pants pocket. Next he left the shed and closed the door using magnetism as he walked away. Like earlier people moved out of Mad Dog's path, but other than that they ignored him as he entered the mess hall that was in a third rectangular building that was connected to the two barracks. He had come to the mess hall with hopes that the food would be more varied than military rations. To Mad Dog's dismay pretty much everyone had a bowl of thick soup smelling reasonably okay, like a somewhat decent cream of mushroom soup. The werewolf sighed to himself but easily spotted a person standing behind a table with a large pot in front of them.
Mad Dog went up to the person and got a small bowl of soup before looking around the mess hall to see where he might want to sit. At one table Roxanne sat staring into the table with an untouched bowl in front of her. The Pandora seemed oblivious to her surroundings while no one really bothered her. Would the Pandora in question would have a nice chat with the one who had nearly killed her a few hours ago? Before any more questions formed in his head Mad Dog walked over to Roxanne.
"Mind if I sit here?" Mad Dog said and waited for a reply. Upon receiving no reply from Roxanne he sat down. "What's on your mind human?" He added which startled the Pandora and surprised her at the same time. She moved quickly and punched at the source of the noise only to realize that the red eyed male was the one who brought her out of her thoughts. Roxanna glanced at her fist to see a single raised finger blocking it. Did he even try to block her fist, or had he predicted what she'd do?
Her Surprise quickly faded as she composed herself. "Just needlessly wondering what Halion is like." Roxanne answered making Mad Dog raise an eyebrow, though he didn't intend to push the issue.
"I've read that you have crazy regeneration for a Pandora, but how is your throat?"
"By the time I woke up it had already recovered..." Roxanne said pausing for thought. "But that strength of yours is truly frightening."
Mad Dog sighed. "That comes from a life time of combat and being different than everyone else." The werewolf shook his head then left leaving the bowl of soup on the table across from Roxanne. With Mad Dog leaving so suddenly it made her wonder; What did he mean by that?
Another two hours passed and the darkness of night shined over the compound. Yet again the Pandoras were summoned to the arena, but only them. This time the arena had a series of household appliances tied together with wires and a Tesla coil off on its own that wasn't powered. By the row of household appliances was another table that Mad Dog lay on looking at the night sky and the stars in it. As the final few Pandoras sat down on the surrounding benches several spotlights lit up lighting the area Mad Dog was at.
The werewolf got off the table and pulled out a small device from his pants pocket before putting it on his ear. "It is time for you to hear exactly what the unusual training is." Mad Dog said as his voice echoed over the arena's speakers. "To put it simply the training exercise tonight will be a treasure hunt of sorts. Your objective will be to capture me before the night runs out."
"How are we supposed to capture you when most of us can't even scratch you!?" Charles shouted.
"Have patience, I will get to that." Mad Dog countered before continuing. "I chose a location like this so that way you all can go as wild as you want when trying to capture me, but this type of location is more challenging for you humans than me because of the time of day and for the fact there will be no power to the training grounds. The only exception to that will be if I power something like this." Mad Dog paused then grabbed a bundle of exposed copper wire before all of the appliances turned on as electrical power flowed from the werewolf to the appliances. "I on the other hand will be using a limited amount of my combat capabilities. However when the Nova show up a siren will sound off and I will move to destroy it."
"How exactly are we supposed to capture you Mad Dog?" Elizabeth asked speaking the question on every Pandora's mind.
"With one of these." Mad Dog answered holding up a pair of handcuffs that he had pulled out of his pocket. "They might look like the regular ones from here but they were made on Halion with a type of metal that limits powers, Pandora or otherwise. I've brought enough of them for every Pandora present to have three each. Even if you run out of the handcuffs you can help your fellow Pandoras try to capture me."
"So how do we win the training exercise?" One Pandora with long blond hair said. Mad Dog narrowed his gaze onto her briefly recognizing her as the one who had her Volt Weapon break on the back of his neck.
"Well Holly, you Pandora have one way to win the exercise and that is for any one of you to capture me. While I have two ways to win: avoid capture for the night or to knock you all unconscious." The werewolf said then opened the giant metal case that was on the ground to the left of the table. Inside it were thousands of handcuffs.
"Let's get him!" One Pandora, who looked to be a second year, shouted then the Pandoras came rushing to the open container. As the Pandoras charged Mad Dog turned around and ran before jumping out of the arena, and out of sight of the Pandoras within moments. An hour and a half later nearly 900 Pandoras were spread out among the deserted city on the hunt for one werewolf (AN: the 900 is just a guess for the amount of Pandoras that Mad Dog WAS able to request for the training).
"This training is a pain." Charles commented as she walked into an open square worn down by weather in the absence of maintenance. Cracks lined the concrete with grass growing from it, while a few roots had snaked through a portion of the stairs to the center of the square distorting them.
"You know, moving on your own is a bad idea in the hunting ground of a predator." Mad Dog said from somewhere above Charles who jerked her head around to see a string of metal I-beams that formed a bridge between two buildings with Mad Dog standing on it. Both ends of the I-beam string looked as if it had just been welded into where it was recently.
"Why are you having us do this when you'll win anyway?!" Charles barked narrowing her furious gaze at him.
Mad Dog sighed. "It would be guaranteed if I didn't limit how I'm using my powers." He countered. "Even if you humans fail you'll still learn something from this, or at least I hope you will."
"And what would that be Mad Dog?" Arnett said walking into the square.
"The purpose of this is to evaluate everyone's strengths and weaknesses, including my own and how one reacts to extreme situations." He replied then turned his back to the Pandoras. "By the way, the gift was great." Mad Dog then vanished and the Pandoras went their separate to find the werewolf.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
"What makes you think he'll be in here?" One tall black haired Pandora said to three others with her.
"For starters this is one of the taller buildings that is still intact." The shortest of the Pandoras answered as she studied the decrepit walls and thinning carpet of the hallway they were in. For its run down state the hotel was pretty much intact. Dust and dirt dominated the floors and walls.
"Why is that important?" Another of them commented as she looked into the remains of a scorched room.
"You really don't know much about tactics do you?" The short one sighed.
"Shut up Carmine!"
"Whatever." Carmine commented. "My point is that this building offers a large field of view. He would be able to see whoever is coming for him." She paused looking out through the busted out hallway windows. "Plus, I know him. The werewolf has the ability to attack at range."
"That makes sense." the Black haired Pandora said brushing some hair behind her ears. "How do you know him? Where are we going to find him? There are ten floors to this run down hotel."
"That's the hard part." Carmine sighed, ignoring the question. "I doubt he is going to be on the tenth floor, since that would be too obvious."
"He'd probably be on either the seventh or eighth floor." Another of the Pandoras commented. Her crimson dyed hair stood out in the dim light that filled the hallway. Of the Pandoras she was the tallest and the only one dressed in common clothing. Faded blue genes and a gray short sleeve t-shirt with some holes adequately reinforced the Pandora's tomboy personality.
"Do you know the werewolf too Josh?" The black haired Pandora said raising an eye brow.
Josh nodded. "Mad Dog is a smart wolf. He has lived this long because he is good at strategy."
"So what floor will the werewolf be on?" One of the other Pandoras asked, only to be followed by silence.
Carmine closed her eyes and took a breath. In a flash of dim blue light an sleek steel colored assault rifle materialized in her right hand. The weapon was large though the Pandora held it with ease (A/N: the weapon is along the lines of the Forerunner rifle from Halo four. Though with a larger clip and with a rate of fire that is faster). "Let's go." She said leading the way down the dark hallway.
"You're going to use the rifle first?" Josh commented falling in line behind Carmine and in front of the other Pandoras. "Wouldn't you want to use another weapon?"
"I want to shoot him." Carmine said quietly as they went up a flight of stairs. The silence of the building was eerie like that of an ancient graveyard at night. The Pandoras traveled in a loose group with Carmine in the front, Josh behind her and the other three last in a triangular pattern. Each of them summoned their respective volt weapons ranging from a spiked mace to a spear and combat knives. Upon reaching the fourth floor the air changed along with a single dim light flashed, struggling to stay on.
Carmine knew something was amiss, but what could it be? Normally the air wouldn't feel thick like a fog. Mad Dog wasn't stupid enough to wait for them to get to the floor he was on without laying traps. What ones could he place with the limitations Mad Dog had assigned himself? Carmine couldn't guess, and that bothered her.
Josh came up to Carmine and taped her on the shoulder once then pointed to the room that emitted light near the middle of the hallway. "That's a trap, though we should take a look." Carmine nodded and motioned the others forward. Slowly the Pandoras made their way to the door getting ready for whatever might be waiting for them. Carmine entered the room first with a finger on the trigger of her weapon.
Sweeping the room with her weapon Carmine saw nothing of note in the old apartment. One musty old couch and two equally musty reclining chairs occupied the front room. The faded light flickered from a light bulb in the ceiling. The other four Pandoras filtered into the room with weapons ready, only to find nothing waiting for them. The floor shared the unkempt and old look of the furniture that was visible.
"Irene." Carmine whispered getting the black haired Pandora's attention. "Check the rest of this place." Gripping her spear a little tighter the Pandora walked down the dimly lit hallway of the apartment before disappearing around a corner.
Josh approached Carmine scanning the shadowy corners. "Something isn't right."
"I agree." Carmine commented moving her finger off of the trigger to rest on the side of the weapon. "This feels like a trap...but where is it?" A shadow moved in the dark of the hallway which Carmine saw out of the corner of her right eye. Without thinking the Pandora whipped around and aimed the weapon out the front door. She watched the apartment's front door for a minute, but nothing changed. Had she imagined a moving shadow?
Irene walked back into the room with a loose grip on her pole-arm. "I didn't see anything back there." Carmine eased her stance and pointed her rifle at the floor. "You alright?"
Carmine's gut tightened as the air started to feel warmer, and moving. The light above them stopped flashing and grew to a steady bright light. She and the other Pandoras Quickly covered their eyes to shield them from the increased brightness. The air moved like a gentle warm breeze that entered the room. The Pandoras quickly backed up to the walls of the living room staring at the center of the room, right where the warm air hovered.
"What is going on?" Irene commented aiming her pole-arm at the warm air with a two hand grip.
"Trap." Carmine and Josh said at the same time. Both of them had a relaxed stance, though they also were ready for anything. A few minutes passed where nothing happened. Then the air rushed into a single spot in front of them. It coalesced into a perfect sphere of shifting wind with a cloudy gray color.
"What kind of trap is this?" One of the other Pandoras commented scratching her head, although she had her close combat Volt weapon out. The short dagger like weapon fit with the Pandora's small size.
"Something new, and unknown." A voice echoed from the gray sphere. The predatory edge was impossible to miss and that only belonged to one individual, Mad Dog. "You do well in the dark with the light..." Mad Dog paused right as the light in the apartment flickered once again. "But what will you do when the light...goes out?"
A brief flash of confusion showed on Irene before total darkness suddenly engulfed the them as the light went out. Fear filled the air with three of the Pandoras looking around frantically, only to see absolute darkness. A creek of wood came from the hallway towards the back rooms. The short Pandora let loose with a wild punch that connected with a hand. Female fingers firmly gripped the Pandora's fist. Immediately She lunged forward with the combat knife in a slashing move. Her Volt weapon hit Josh and broke in half, but left no mark.
"Don't panic." Josh scolded calmly. "It will get you killed."
"I can't see anything." The Short Pandora said through rapid, but slowing, breathes.
Josh closed her eyes and took a large breath. "I can't either." She concentrated on herself then focused her mind to the apartment around her. Just like the many times before an aura of touch reached out past the Pandora's body, letting her sense and feel the location of things beyond physical reach. For almost a minute Josh stood still remembering where her classmate were and the layout of the apartment. An unexpected arachnid-like screech sounded off from the wall by the broken husk of a refrigerator. Josh tore the pole-arm from Irene's hands and stabbed at the source of the sound. Blood splashed onto the Pandora's left arm as a hiss escaped the creature's throat.
"What was that for?" Irene growled once vision returned to them, after two minutes. Josh pulled the pole-arm out of the wall with ease and handed it back to the black haired Pandora. Irene accepted her weapon then caught sight of the creature that lay on the counter. "What on Earth is that THING?"
Carmine immediately came over to the creature and poked it with her weapon. They waited holding their breath for the creature to do something, but nothing happened. All of them breathed a sigh of relief while Carmine lowered her weapon. "I had no idea that he could create those." Carmine sighed.
"What do you mean?" Irene said looking between Carmine and the creature.
"Mad Dog is being creative." Josh supplied.
Carmine narrowed her eyes at the plain clothed Pandora. "You did not just say that."
"What are we missing?" The Short Pandora said causing Josh and Carmine to look at her. "How could Mad Dog create that thing?" She studied it thoroughly. The shadowy creature was about the size of a house cat. It had six pointed legs with an armored body and four glowing red eyes. With the creature upside down the short Pandora could see two curved appendages at the end of the body facing her, that looked remarkably like the spinnerets of a spider. "On second thoughts...how do you know Mad Dog can create this?"
"That's classified." Carmine commented with an annoyed tone. "Let's move on." She said then led the way out of the apartment. Josh shook her head then followed, then the rest of the Pandoras fell in line behind Josh. Half an hour later the Pandoras arrived at the seventh floor.
"'That's classified'." Mad Dog's voice mocked making the Pandoras tense suddenly. "An interesting way to say 'fuck off'." The Pandoras yet again looked around but with the floor being mostly cleared and in a state of unfinished construction, as if the floor was going to be turned into something else from apartments. Unlike the previous levels the hanging lights were on, but they swayed gently in a light breeze. This was unmistakably the floor that Mad Dog was on. With all the shadows and incomplete walls there were so many places for the werewolf to hide. The floor by itself was a better trap than the one Mad Dog had made on the fourth floor.
"Let's go." Josh said scanning the first open area carefully. "And do NOT stray far."
"Why?" Irene commented also looking through the room as well, then followed a shadow until it vanished behind a half built wall to her right. "We'd be able to find him quicker if we split up."
"No, we wouldn't." Carmine suddenly said focusing on the black haired Pandora. "What you said is exactly what he wants us to do. If we split up he WILL take us out one by one, and leave those standing to find the bodies until there is only one left." Tension hung in the air around Carmine as if she were angry about something. "You have no idea what the werewolf is capable of." She finished walking off to the window and releasing her volt weapon. Before it hit the floor the rifle dissipated into blue fragments that vanished.
The other three Pandoras looked at each other then to Josh, wishing for an answer with their eyes. Josh looked at them for a minute then shrugged and went over to Carmine.
"Frustrated?" Mad Dog's voice whispered on the air around the Pandoras. At the sound all of them jumped except for Josh who seemed to be expecting it. "Is it all the questions?"
"Can it wolf!" Carmine snapped gripping the window frame tightly.
A dark laugh roared from some deep part of the floor. "I won't," Mad Dog commented. "Should I tell them how I know you?"
"That is classified." Carmine ground out removing her hand from the window frame.
"Bullshit." Mad Dog replied. His voiced boomed as he got closer but made no other sound. "You aren't even native to this place, Pandora."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Irene said frantically confused. What did the werewolf mean? How was she not native to the area? Irene knew that Josh and Carmine weren't normal by any stretch of the imagination. Both of them were far beyond their peers that is was almost unnatural. Neither of the two had to try to beat any of their classmates at Australia Genetics. What had Carmine and Josh been hiding all this time? Why were they so special?
"What are you two hiding?" The short Pandora said focusing on Carmine. "I don't care if it is classified, tell me." Carmine returned her stare with one of her own. The two of them were silent for two minutes with nothing going on.
Josh shook her head. "The Wolf is right, " she said. Instantly Carmine and the others looked at her. The air shivered behind the crimson haired Pandora and in a blur of movement the others couldn't follow she jumped forward and rolled. At the end of the roll Josh turned to face a humanoid figure that punched a fist through a half built wall destroying it completely. Fragments rained down onto the stunned Pandoras and smacked into another wall further into the floor from the stairs.
"You always had the sharpest senses of the humans Josh." Mad Dog's voice spoke from the humanoid figure. The form shifted from human looking to to that of a werewolf and became a solid gray form. Two red orbs looked out from the head watching the Pandoras. Carmine quickly summoned the rifle and aimed it at the wind figure and pulled the trigger. A burst of energy rounds thundered out of the rifle drowning out all sound and brightly lighting up the room. The plasma rounds ripped through the gray humanoid causing its form to shift and waver. Behind it the plasma burned holes through the incomplete walls, and punched through the outer wall of the floor. One red eye raised up slightly. "That's new."
"It is," Carmine said with a grin forming on her lips. "With this I should be able to make you bleed wolf."
The air thundered with Mad Dog's laugh raising the hairs on the necks of the Pandoras. Where was he if the gray thing in front of them wasn't the werewolf? "Oh that'll hurt." He said, sarcasm clear in the werewolf's tone. The gray figure suddenly vanished and reformed deeper within the floor, then held up a hand. "Come into my lair, humans."
Carmine fired off another burst from her plasma rifle causing the gray figure to dissipate into the air this time. She went ahead with the other Pandoras following closely behind her with Josh at the rear. Darkness seemed to hang in the air as a thin haze with shadows dancing just at the edge of vision. The further they went into the incomplete floor the more it seemed that it was another world where shadows could move on their own and light seemed strained. The air contained a sense of dread with the Pandoras on high alert trying to find the werewolf before he could get them. Each had their Volt weapons out except for Josh who didn't seem to be bothered by the shadows, or if she was the Pandora hid it well. Nearly twenty minutes passed by with no sign of the werewolf.
"Where could the wolf be?" Irene asked thinking that they should have found the werewolf with the amount of time they had spent searching the floor for him. There was no where for the werewolf to hide that they hadn't checked. So why had they not found him? Something didn't quite feel right which made her gut tighten a little. If I were a werewolf where would I hide to ambush them? She thought looking around the large open room they had stopped in. This room had walls that were unfinished but nonetheless there. Plywood covered the thin walls and some of it lay on the floor under a layer of dust that attempted to color it gray. There were two holes in the walls to her left and behind her that would have been made for windows if the floor plan had been finished. There weren't good hiding places that would shield Mad Dog from their sights. The human slowly looked up to see a a crisscrossing of metal beams above them at different heights.
Without warning a shadow moved in the dark above the lights. It streaked across the ceiling then vanished past a hole towards the top of a wall. Irene watched the ceiling for a minute then lowered her sight only to be greeted with hands grabbing the sides of her head. She let out a quiet yelp before electricity shocked her, then her world went dark. Mad Dog quickly retreated back up to the metal beams above the main room of the floor watching the humans run to the unconscious Pandora. Josh was the first one to move away from Irene's unconscious form and go over to one of the walls. Once next to the wall she hit it with the back of her right hand knuckles first using some force. There was a moment of silence after the hit where the Pandoras looked at josh. Then the floor quaked causing them to try and find balance on their feet.
"What happened?" The short Pandora commented falling onto her ass. Metal groans sounded off above them along with a thud as something hit them.
"I forgot you could do that." Mad Dog growled stretching out his left arm. In an instant the werewolf snapped it out generating a loud crack, causing Carmine to flinch. The werewolf himself was attached to the lowest of the metal beams with his feet in a manner that made it appear as if gravity was reversed for him. The only hint that things were not quite what they seemed was Mad Dog's short hair that hanged down towards the Pandoras rather than it falling normally.
"I did neglect to mention that he can walk on walls." Josh calmly stated bringing attention back to herself, and a angry glare.
"You devious bitch." Carmine growled as she went largely still while slowing her breathing.
Josh grinned putting her hands in her pockets. "I wanted to see your reaction, besides you know I'm part Wolf."
"You're part werewolf?" The two conscious Pandoras said at the same time.
"She is, but not enough to have the form." Mad Dog commented then popped his neck. "Enough of that though." Within several blurred moments the werewolf jumped to the floor and attacked the short Pandora. She was sent through a wall right before Carmine hammered a kick to the werewolf's chest causing him to slam into the wall next to Josh, destroying it. Carmine pointed the plasma rifle at Mad Dog and opened fire. Carmine held the trigger until it stopped firing. Hissing emanated from the smoking hole where the plasma rifle rounds has burned through the wood before a shadow was seen. Carmine smacked the side of her rifle with her right hand to keep her left on the trigger.
"How did that feel wolf?" Carmine called with a light of glee in her eyes. Once the werewolf stepped into view that light vanished. Dozens of burn wounds quickly closed up right before the eyes of the humans, faster than the two Pandoras could believe.
Mad Dog shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't really hurt." Suddenly Carmine's rifle vanished and she Accel Turned to get behind the werewolf. He whipped around in a blur and grabbed Carmine's foot with a hand. Mad Dog threw her across the room into another wall, toppling it. She got up from the pile of wood and rushed Mad Dog sliding under a round house kick and knocked Mad Dog's foot from under him. He fell onto the floor in a crash, but rolled quickly to his feet with cat like grace. Carmine got up with a growl focusing her attention to the calm werewolf. Josh moved from the wall she had hit to stand next to Carmine with her hands out of her pockets relaxed.
Mad Dog kept his eyes on them both and entered a standing position with his feet a little ways apart, while on the balls of his feet. The three of them stared at each other quietly for a minute. In an instant Mad Dog was point blank with Josh and Carmine slamming a fist into the gun wielding Pandora's chest, catapulting her through walls. Josh had dashed out of the way before moving in to attack the werewolf. Josh moved at a speed the other two Pandora's couldn't track as she lashed out at the werewolf with a punch he blocked then returned with one of his own at the same speed. Josh blocked Mad Dog's lightning quick punch with her right forearm with no visible mark from the impact. He grabbed hold of her left arm and threw her across the room to land next to the widow overlooking a parking lot on the ground. Mad Dog took one step towards Josh as Carmine pounced on him with a downwards kick that made the werewolf bend over at the waist briefly. He brought up his right leg for a round house kick that connected with Carmine's forearm with enough force to have her slide a few feet despite being braced for the hit.
"You two are better than you were back then in the Academy on Halion." Mad Dog commented as he jumped back to get some distance from the two and to position himself in a another loose stance on the balls of his feet. Hands rested near his pockets but not in them.
"You're still a monster, Mad Dog." Josh said shifting into a loose boxing stance with arms a ways from her face.
"I know," he commented watching the two intently as a predator would watch prey. A few seconds pause ensued before the three of them went at it again. As they moved about the floor in speeds too fast for the normal Pandoras to track walls were destroyed and splintered, littering the somewhat intact floor. Holes dotted the floor where Mad Dog missed with downward kicks or punches.
"Help us out you idiots." Carmine hollered as she and Josh tried to kick the werewolf in the head, but he blocked it with an arm. Josh came in behind Mad Dog with a head kick of her own only to be blocked by his other arm. With only a two second pause he pushed back both limbs and casually Quadruple Accelled to the other end of the hallway.
"They aren't coming to your aid." Mad Dog said tilting his head to the side. "Why would they? Those Earth-Natives can't track your movements, let alone mine."
"Oh well," Carmine sighed. "Let's-" she stopped talking suddenly feeling constricted. A subtle energy leaked from the werewolf as if it was lazily going through a crack in his control, though she knew better. The only thing that didn't feel imprisoned was her head so she tested it by looking to the right. There was a little resistance but not much as she found that Josh was also in a similar situation.
"As much as I'd like to spar with you two I cannot." Mad Dog calmly commented as he turned to walk away. "You'll be needed when the Nova arrive."
"You don't know for sure that they will come." Josh commented as the werewolf stopped, then peered over his shoulder at them.
"Why wouldn't they?" He said before disappearing from sight with a flash of light. The werewolf materialized in the main room where Irene was unconscious on the floor. The two Pandoras in the room stiffened at the sight of Mad Dog suddenly appearing. He ignored their terrified stares and knelt down next to Irene. Next he placed a hand on her head before a small shock of electricity was released. The black haired Pandora instantly opened her eyes looking around. She quickly spotted the werewolf as he stood up and backed off, allowing the Pandora to sit up.
"What happened?" Irene asked feeling a little dizzy, as if she had lost her balance.
"I shocked you unconscious and brought you out of it just now." Mad Dog replied. Irene looked at the werewolf with a confused expression. "Learn from Josh and Carmine, they will need you later." Again the werewolf vanished with a flash of light before the eyes of the Pandoras. The short one went over to Irene and helped her up to her feet.
"Should we warn them?" The short Pandora said looking at the devastation a simple hand-to-hand match caused for the floor. Most of the walls that had been partially erected when they arrived to the floor.
"Yes." Irene commented then slowly pushed herself away from the shorter Pandora. "He's not of this world, so we'll need all the edge we can get against him."
The short Pandora nodded. "This is Mel of Australian Genetics. Mad Dog is capable of three degree movement and completely blinding opponents."
Chiffon furrowed her brow over the announcement of what the werewolf could do. It didn't bode well for the Pandoras that he could blind them as well as walk on walls. Ticy stood by her side as the Smiling Monster watched several Pandoras attempt to hit Mad Dog before the he jumped and landed on the side of a building avoiding their attacks in the process. Mad Dog ran on the side of a building then jumped to another building side and maneuver around them. Next the group of Pandoras were hit with a burst of electricity
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Roxanne hollered through the radio confused.
"It means that he can move around like a spider can." Elizabeth answered for Chiffon.
"Seriously?" Roxanne said as she walked up to Chiffon and Ticy.
"His power is electricity so my guess is that he is using magnetism to provide three degree movement." Julia suggested.
"That makes sense, but where did he go?" Roxanne said.
"Mad Dog spotted in area F." Another Pandora said over the radio. Chiffon and Ticy sprinted off towards the northern part of the city and ran into Julia and Roxanne who headed for the same area.
"265 down." The four Pandoras heard Mad Dog say as they stopped at the entryway of a parking lot that was littered with about thirty or so unconscious Pandoras. He looked up when they sounds of approaching feet stopped to see three of the four strongest Pandora in the world in a group. "Well...this bites." Mad Dog grunted then vanished casually using Start Quadruple Accel.
Julia summoned her Volt Weapon and aimed it at the werewolf, but the blast was blocked by a large chunk of a building. "Does he think that will stop us?" She wondered out loud as the dust from the blasted bit of building blinded their vision of the far side of the parking lot.
"No." Chiffon answered. "It's more like he wants to slow us down."
"Why is that?" Roxanne said raising an eyebrow.
"Because out of all the Pandora here we are the hardest ones to take down with the limitations he has placed on himself." Chiffon said.
"I see." Julia commented then dismissed her Volt Weapon. "If we team and corner him it will be a guaranteed capture." She added then Chiffon nodded.
"That may be true, but we have to find him again." Roxanne sighed. The group began walking west along a main rode until they heard angry shouting and crashes. They entered a house through the ruins of the front door to find Rana fighting Mad Dog in hand to hand combat, though it could barley be called a fight. Mad Dog kept dodging her attacks and grabbed her hand before throwing her into a wall with no effort at all. The Pandora hit the wall hard enough to cough up blood upon impact, but that didn't seem to damper her spirit.
"I'm not done yet!" Rana said getting up from the floor while Mad Dog sighed looking rather bored, as if this had been going on for a bit. Rana looked beaten and largely out of breath with scrapes, scratches, and bruises over most of her body. Along with her injuries her clothing had been mostly torn though it didn't seem to bother Mad Dog one bit. The werewolf on the other hand had no visible injuries, or if he had any they had already healed, but his charcoal colored shirt had a series of rips in it along on top of the bullet holes from Carmine's plasma rifle.
"You've been at this for ten minutes now." Mad Dog said then Rana charged at the werewolf who was standing in the middle of a living room littered with shards of what looked to have been a couch and possibly a glass coffee table. Mad Dog closed his eyes before slamming Rana into the floor with one hand, effortlessly burying her head in the floor. "Do you ever learn?" He asked while Rana was still. Mad Dog left his hand on her head for a few seconds to determine if he went a little overboard, though he sensed he had only knocked her out. Next the werewolf stood up pausing for half a second before lifting an arm and blasting the spot the Pandoras were at with magnetic force. Chiffon and Roxanne were hit but managed to summon and put their Volt Weapons into the floor of the house to stay within the house. Unfortunately Julia and Ticy were hit dead on by the blast of force and were sent through the walls and into the street.
Chiffon and Roxanne quickly recovered and attacked the werewolf. He didn't move quick enough to dodge and was sent flying into the house across the street. Mad Dog crashed through the front window of the house and through a wall to come to a rest in the master bedroom. He got up and brushed himself off of dust and small pieces of debris that weren't already stuck in him like the glass from the front window of the house. The werewolf rushed out at Chiffon and tried to punch her but only made a geyser of concrete where she had been in the street.
Is this his unrestricted strength?! Roxanne wondered in her mind while she stood motionless. Suddenly she was pulled backwards just enough to avoid getting punched in the face. In the next instant she felt pain as her eyes registered Mad Dog severing her right arm, by chopping it off with an electrically charged hand. Yet again Chiffon hit the werewolf into another house then grabbed Roxanne's shoulder.
"Don't space out while fighting him." Chiffon scolded as Roxanne's arm regenerated in a matter of moments. "It is costly."
"Your regeneration is as good as mine." Mad Dog said just as moonlight shined on him to reveal lots of little cuts and a few pieces of metal or concrete stuck in his body. "Against the two of you I'm tossing a few of my limitations." He said with a grin as he shape shifted into his true form.
"What is that?" Roxanne commented. Seeing the change in his form which conveniently removed most of the small fragments of debris stuck in him.
"This is the true form of a werewolf." Mad Dog answered then Chiffon rushed forward and the werewolf met her Volt Weapon with his fist. A concussive blast erupted from the clashing ripping apart the concrete with ease. In the next instant Roxanne sensed Mad Dog behind her just as a kick from him connected with her side. The Pandora was catapulted through the garage door of a house. She stayed still for a few seconds to recover from having the wind knocked out of her and while regenerating her broken ribs. Just as she began to get up from sitting on the floor at the back of the garage she looked up to see Mad Dog crouched closely in front of her. The Pandora froze instantly with fear of the warrior in front of her that surpassed even Chiffon. Even though he wasn't doing anything Mad Dog's studying gaze did little to ease Roxanne's fear, if anything it made it worse.
The werewolf sighed then reached out and tapped Roxanne on her forehead with the knuckle of his index finger, sending a tiny electrical shock at the same time. She twitched and moved her arm before flexing her hand. Roxanne looked from her hand to Mad Dog before seeing Chiffon approach the werewolf, only to get launched back by a repulsive blast. Mad Dog then stood up and walked out onto the street.
After a minute Roxanne exited the garage and joined Chiffon in chasing the werewolf to a parking garage that was several blocks down the road. There the two Pandoras engaged the male in hand to hand combat. In the middle of their fight Chiffon used Illusion turn and scored a solid hit on the werewolf that sent him crashing through a support pillar. Using the dust from the destroyed concrete Roxanne and Chiffon attacked Mad Dog at the same time right as he stood up, which sent the werewolf through a wall and towards the down town part of the city.
Roxanne and Chiffon followed the radio chatter that reported where the werewolf was, as well as the continuing to rise body count. For several minutes they group of Pandoras jogged down streets lit by moonlight. The streets and remains of buildings were covered in dust and weighed down by age, with shadows dancing along their surfaces as the Pandoras passed them. They slowed to a stop by the remains of a small square building that had probably been a tiny convenience store. They spotted Cassie Lockheart next to the werewolf who was laying on the ground in front of her. He looked ragged with blood dotting his fur and his breathing sounded unusually labored. Once they got closer the Pandoras noticed a jagged piece of concrete and metal jabbed into Mad Dog's chest cavity, right where one of his lungs were.
"What's up with him?" Roxanne commented gesturing to the werewolf. "He was itching for a fight five minutes ago, and now he looks terrible." She added whilst Chiffon grabbed the piece of concrete and pulled it out before tossing it to the side away from them.
"Did you see what happened to him?" Chiffon asked dismissing her Volt Weapon and sitting on the other side of the werewolf.
"I saw him climb out of that building after it fell on him." Cassie answered pointing to a pile of rubble with a a trail of green blood from the top of the pile to the ground near where the male Pandora lay, the same pile that the group had walked past. "I was going to capture him with the handcuffs, but he collapsed after taking a few steps."
"Other than that what is wrong with him?" Roxanne said dismissing her Volt Weapon while wondering what had caused the change in the werewolf in such a short time. It didn't make sense with what she had seen of him earlier.
"He might be experiencing a side effect." Chiffon answered making Roxanne slump her shoulders in confusion and to have the same confusion appear on Cassie's face. "Although Mad Dog has a 95% compatibility with the Stigmata in his back, he still has the chance for side effects to happen. The only side effect I know of is loss of balance."
"Are there other side effects?" Julia said as she limped over to the group, having heard part of the conversation. Her right leg looked mangled from having bits of a building batter, scrape, and impale it. Other than her leg she was largely fine with some dust on her and a few minor cuts.
"He wasn't specific but there are others, including potentially fatal ones."
"That...sound wave...of yours...hurts." Mad Dog grumbled while opening his eyes and flicking his ears seemingly flexing them like one might flex a sore hand. As the werewolf flicked his ears small flecks of blood dotted the ground.
"You're alive!" Cassie cheerfully commented.
"It takes more than that to actually kill me." Mad Dog said while pushing himself up. He stuck a hand in his pocket and fished out a, rather mushy, power bar before opening it and eating it. It only took a few seconds for the werewolf to devour the power bar, and for him to regenerate completely. It seemed that whatever Mad Dog had energized him.
"What happened to you?" Chiffon said with a tone of concern.
"I should have eaten something before this." The Werewolf chided himself.
"I do remember you having a bowl of food when you came to talk to me, but you never ate it." Roxanne said.
"I have yet to call off the training you know." The werewolf commented as Cassie reached for a handcuff. However Mad Dog rolled forward and jumped landing nearly half a block away by the time Pandoras had noticed that he had moved.
Cassie got up to her feet and got into a sprinting stance with a faint glow around her body. Roughly a dozen seconds later she rushed forward with a start Quadruple Accell and barreled through Mad Dog, only to realize it was his after image. Her eyes widened in fear and surprise. How fast can the werewolf move? She thought. Cassie was easily the fastest of the Pandoras and even she didn't see him move. Without warning laser blasts raced to the building on Cassie right causing her to look up as she side dashed out of the way of concrete. To her astonishment Mad Dog was standing on the side of the building next to some holes in the wall.
"Not good enough." Elizabeth cursed under her breath watching the werewolf who was stationary on the side of the building in front of her, having easily evaded her Volt Weapon's shots. She stood at the edge of a somewhat shorter building with her Volt Weapon hovering close behind her.
They stood still looking at each other when a loud siren sounded before an automated voice echoed through the city. "Five S-type Nova detected. All remaining Pandoras prepare for combat." Even from quite a distance away from the five Nova they could see them clearly, and that they hadn't moved after appearing.
The werewolf teleported to an unconscious Pandora and picked up the radio headset she had before speaking into it. "This is Mad Dog." He said with a pause to give the Pandoras some time to stop and listen for what he would say next. "You are to remain on standby while I eliminate the five S-class Nova by myself."
"All five of them by yourself?!" Quite a number of Pandoras hollered in response at the same time.
"Who gave you the permission to order us around?" One Pandora remarked.
"Just shut up and watch." Mad Dog barked silencing any further protest. He walked down a street until he stopped in the middle of a cracked plant infested four-way intersection. The werewolf pointed his index and middle finger with his thumb up, mimicking a gun with his hand at the Nova. Once Mad Dog lowered his thumb electricity roared and fired as a large beam of energy that punched through two Novas at ounce. Mad Dog's electrical attack disrupted the radio and scorched the ground just in front of his hand for several meters. The remaining three Nova turned to face him as their two comrades exploded.
One of the three Nova turned to face another direction shortly after looking at Mad Dog. It paused before Mad Dog sensed a an energy building up right before an orb started to form at the Nova's mouth. In an instant Mad Dog teleported in front of the preparing blast. The Werewolf glanced over his shoulder to see a large group of Pandoras with a good portion of them still unconscious from encountering him earlier. As the orb in front of the Nova's mouth grew Mad Dog turned sideways. The Nova unleashed the charged energy in a great blasting beam a few seconds later. The hearts of the command staff skipped a beat as smoke blocked the vision of the cameras.
"Detecting another energy spike." Triston reported typing away madly at a keyboard. "The energy spike is even higher than the first!"
"What?" Sister Margret stammered watching the screen. The smoke cleared to reveal Mad Dog with the right gauntlet of his Volt Weapon held out. The Gauntlet glowed with energy as the werewolf pointed a finger at the Nova. Suddenly electric blue energy roared drowning out all sound and shot out as a energy beam that obliterated anything it came into contact with. The ground where the beam hit was turned into glass or simply vaporized by the extreme heat.
"Mad Dog they're coming this way." Chiffon said then Mad Dog dismissed the gauntlet and teleported to the top of a building at the edge of the town, which appeared to be a church in dire disrepair. He stood on the top of the ruined tower that had long since lost it's pointy roof.
"I've got a large electromagnetic reading forming around the two remaining Nova." Tristan reported as a video feed showed the werewolf with an arm out stretched to the Nova that glowed a deep blue.
"Burn." Mad Dog growled,malice dripping from the words. In the following instant two gigantic columns of electricity rose up from the ground engulfing the two S-class Nova. The electricity acted as a barrier where blue fire danced chaotically within. Inhuman screams echoed from the columns of energy before fading away after roughly ten seconds. The moment the screams faded the columns dissipated into the air revealing glassed ground and cracked earth.
The Pandoras murmured among themselves recalling what Mad Dog had said about taking on five S-class Nova.
"No wonder the Smiling Monster lost, he's too powerful." One Pandora commented to another.
"He may be strong, though I wonder what gives him trouble." Another Pandora said.
"I want to be his partner." One Pandora said before others of her group said the same thing.
Without warning a deep male voice silenced everyone. "So this is where you've been hiding you cockroach."