The time is here, my friends! The buildup of the story will be released in THIS chapter. After starting off as a pitiful lowlife, Azxoll is now about to rise up the ranks to supreme overlord! This chapter will be about the long-awaited revenge of the broken guardian, now that the world has shrugged him off as nothing. Will Azxoll achieve his kingdom here? What will the other villains do during this time? How will our other canine heroes respond to this? Will you like this chapter? Well, go on...find out! Warning: violent chapter ahead.
Agondray Periculuum Termiuus - part 2
Azxoll POV
I stared into the purity of the heavens above one last time. I closed my eyes, and counted to three. "One..." I raised my arm up for the final strike. "Two..." I positioned my claws into a jabbing gesture. "Three..." With one last breath, I wailed my arm down into the pavement, piercing the black rock. A large crack gouged along the ground beneath me, a subtle light sneaking through the chinks. "Let it begin -" I whispered before everything changed.
The ground exploded, and a huge beam of light shot skyward from below me. The solid surface began falling away at my feet. Everything was silent; the powerful ambience created at this second made me hear nothing but my own breathing. Soon, gravity lost its will upon my body, and I ascended upward as the beam was. Looking down, the Earth was getting farther and farther away...and the full view of San Francisco was becoming more and more complete. Finally, once I was high enough to see the entire city, I automatically stopped climbing up the beam. This force...I could FEEL IT. Its power...it felt like none I had ever known before. It was as if this power was surging through my veins - as if an electrical impulse shocked every single one of my muscles and increased their power tenfold! Physically, I could see this strength coming into fruition. All that existed around me seemed to become smaller in comparison to me; that's when I noticed my size was growing. My body grew about seven times its original size before stopping, and even more of this awesome force continued to enter my very being. The spines covering my body became razor-sharp, and my arms and legs bulged large and vascular muscles. My soul had entered the void of infinite potential and had shaken hands with all the energy in the universe. A smile planted itself on my face, and I was finally aware of the lagaaryy's true ability.
Just then, the beam began to fade. "What? NO! Why is the light in this grand light fading? Will not my power fade as well?" I wondered. Instead of the power and light dimming, only the white coloration was starting to dwindle. The beam was beginning another phase; now the forces within it were of darkness...thus, the sky-seeking beacon became black. As this blackness surrounded me, something unexpected and originally not part of the plan initiated itself into action.
The beam was becoming a strange gaseous substance, something similar to an ancient drayic element. This mist began to envelop my arms, legs, and torso. "What the...? What is going on?!" The fog was swallowing me, as if my source of power were beginning to consume my body. I felt the mist wrap around my entire being, constricting me as the gas began to change form. It was forming something solid, just as the demonic red fog Belladonna created summoned my brother and changed his form. However, I did not feel this black mist changing my body structure. Rather...it was adding to it. As I peered at my myself again, I saw the darkness create a protective outer covering for my body. I could feel this new power slither up my long neck and cover everything but my head. In the next moment, the substance became whole. What remained was a dark armour, one that looked invincible and extremely sturdy with a slight rocklike look to it.
My main frame was covered by a bulky body casing, one that extended farther out to make my stature look even more menacing. Down the center of the torso armour was a ridge, separating the two halves of my body with this sharp peak. Up my neck and spine were various plates of the black-grey material. Spines ejected from the sides of each slab, so the two sides of my neck were rows of these deadly things. My legs held large and bulky layers on the thighs, just as my torso had. The lower legs had two flattened plates only on the front of my shins, with three spikes on each. My feet held flexible cover, with a series of small ridges forming a defense for the lowest region of my body. My tail was similar, many of the areas on it being surrounded by a small piece of the armour so that my tail could move about freely. My shoulders had five large spines jousting out of the rounded plates, the central spine longer than the other four. Along my arms were slick and comfortable platings, which led to the gauntlets on my hands. This was my favourite part of the masterpiece that was now me; the armour covering the hands was a jagged set of amorphous gloves with the rough rocky black armour covering the tops of my fingers and hands. At the edge of my fingers, where my claws where, larger dark claws of pure black metal ousted from my fingertips. Not only that, but these gauntlets had black lightning slightly emanating off of the shiny ends of my claws. Black lightning reminded me of the time of the agondrays, when certain species had access to amplify energies, such as lightning and fire. The greatest of these abilities was black fire and lightning, which far surpassed their normal counterparts by almost ten times in power. An evil grin spread across my face, feeling this lost power now refound. I checked the blade at the end of my tail, which was now as jet black as the claws of the gloves, with the dark energies surging off of it as well. Finally, the mist had one last role to play before its usefulness ended. The fog settled on my face, atop my head. As it solidified, I knew a helm now covered my face. Three grand spikes gouged upward on the helmet above my nose; two huge extra horns extended backwards to the area behind my horns. My normal horns wrapped around my face at both sides, so these new horns made the total on my head now four - twice as damaging as beforehand. The only part of me not covered now was my jaw and the area of my calves. With this much bulk, I would've thought that this would seriously weigh me down. However, this was the opposite; the great plates now covering me were completely weightless, as if I had nothing extra upon my body. The dark substance creating this great body shield was apparently a matter going beyond the natural realm of human-known physics.
I laughed; THIS was the full strength of the lagaareyy...I knew it was. Suddenly, the beacon stopped its ascent. Now, the great beam from the Underworld began to fade away, as I floated down to Earth again in my new form. I stared again at the Heavens and noticed now that where the beam had entered the clouds, a dark hole remained there in the midst. It was as if a permanent black scar had been made upon the sky, a clearing of the innocent fluffy apparitions above. I mumbled to myself and forced my mind back onto my hate. As my talons touched the Earth once more, I could clearly see the difference. I was much larger now - about seventy feet in height. Along with this, my inner power and strength had amplified many times over. And to top it off, I was now wearing the strongest armour on the planet...the Azxolian Lagaareyy Armour, I decided to name it. I felt the pressure of my abhorration overwhelming me now; I had to cause pain and suffering given these abilities. I closed my eyes again, this time anger running through my emotions. "Now..." I muttered, spreading out my arms with my claws outstretched, "I'm showing everyone how a real king rules."
My eyes shot open, and I bolted forward with the ferocity of a tyrant. The claws of my gauntlets crashed into two buildings on both sides of the road I was running down. As I kept my momentum, I left two huge scars on the sides of each edifice. Thereafter I turned around and gave a huge bloodcurdling roar, loud enough to be heard for over a mile. If no-one had seen my beacon of power before, they knew of my presence now. I took my hand and aimed it down the path I just crushed. I shot the lightning from the black war machine on my claws, and beheld as the lightspeed beams shocked and corroded all of the remaining land ahead. Any humans dumb enough to be in my path suddenly fell to the ground as ash. I jumped onto the side of one of the already damaged buildings, digging my sharp talons into it. As I pulled back outward, the entire structure collapsed into dust and rubble.
I decided now was time to take my terrour to the skies; I spread out my strong wings and shot up into the airspace above the doomed cityscape. Soon after looking over my new kingdom, I opened my jaw and released black fire upon the lands below. The fire-radius of the blast was gigantic. When I looked again, a whole array of buildings were up in flame, some already falling because of the intolerable heat of the increasingly overpowering inferno. I flew lower to the ground and scraped chunks off of buildings, sending huge pieces of debris to crush the pitiful race of man. I stopped the flapping of my majestic pinions and dropped to the ground, my impact from the fall causing the road to crunch up underneath my clawed feet. As I looked forward, a large assortment of human officers stood down the road from me. I just chuckled to myself, knowing there was no way anyone would ever stop me.
"Ferocious dragon, the California state and federal police demand immediate refrain from the destruction of San Francisco! Any further sign of intimidation or attack will result in this entire department and barrage of officers to open fire on you! Stand down and accept defeat - you cannot take on this entire militia alone, you reptilian scum!" an aged policeman announced over a megaphone.
"Stop me...?" I pondered. "These pitiful flesh sacks cannot end a force as powerful as me! Send in an armada for all I care! No force on this planet can stop this lagaareyy!" My face cringed up in anger. With a quick flick of my claw, the gauntlet shot a single bolt at the lead officer, moving at an immeasurable speed. As the man saw my movement, he attempted to bring up his firearm but the lightning hit smack in his check first. Without a moment's notice, the human erupted in a million directions, small chunks of his weak meat splattering all over the ground and any close by peers of his.
A bloodstained policeman took only a second before recuperating from the death of his fellow officer. "Fire! Everyone fire!" Just then, the roadway of about eighty cops shot pistols, shotguns, and rifles at me simultaneously. As I peered downward I noticed the Azxolian Armour easily deflecting every bullet - no marks or scratches even remained on my invincible plating. Soon enough, a shot hit my chin, a small area of my body left uncovered. I growled in pain, but the lead only went in very little, as my skin itself was already rockhard.
"Fine! You will ALL SUFFER UNDER YOUR NEW LORD!" I bellowed. I raised up my hand slowly. Bringing the glove back a few feet, I then lunged my arm forward and a gigantic array of dark lightning emanated from the tips of my fingers. The force exploded ahead of me, as if a huge black sheet appeared before my eyes. I didn't see anything beyond this black veil, as the dark energy was so big it did not allow me to see the ones I was attacking. After a few seconds, I lowered my arm and found only devastation in my wake. The entire road was covered in the blood of my enemies - not a single man was left standing. Flesh, bone, and a river of red were all I saw. I gave a "humph" of approval of my newfound tyranny as I ran through the intersections and continued my assault.
I clawed more at the floors of buildings, watching them fall whence I was finished with them. I stared down at the ground, witnessing the puny and insignificant beings that made my life a living hell. I bared my teeth as I wanted to tear and rip these pests apart. "This is how you all made me feel!" I screamed. I marched forth and stomped upon a human too slow to run away. His organic matter went down and out, leaving a red puddle as I stepped away. I snatched a woman up and threw her a great distance, knowing very well her landing would be unpleasant. I then crunched a piece off of a nearby office and dropped the heavy concrete on a man. I did this multiple times over, stepping on, biting in half, and wailing these filthbags.
I could feel it. Every kill I completed was piece of my hatred and my pain stored in my husk of a body throughout the years I've been tortured by this world. My rage coursed through my blood...and resulted in the spilling of others'. Hurt...anger...revenge...destiny all ran through my mind over and over as I was doing this. I NEEDED to do this...it was no longer a choice!
After enough individual damage, I saw it only fitting to return back to killing multitudes at a time. I jumped on roofs of building after building, transforming them from once-proud human achievements to trophies displaying my victory over the human race. I flew up to the heavens again, this time swooping down over various areas and blowing storms of flame down upon road after road, leaving a wasteland of fire and death. I looked over to the abandoned area of this "forest" of grey and impurity. The edifices over in that section were of no interest to me. No humans were living in them and therefore they had no use being reduced to nothing. Plus, that was where my few allies lied. However, one final object of interest caught my eye: the Golden Gate Bridge.
I skyrocketed over to the glorious display of human labour...soon it would become a "gorious" display of my new reign. I released another ear-piercing shriek from my throat, signifying my approach to my last destination. I began by ramming myself at the structure. I curled in my head and used my four horns to send myself straight through the once-solid object. A gap now appeared in the middle of the bridge, and I marveled as a myriad of cars fell forward into the watery abyss below. Humans scrambled about, climbing over vehicles and trying to save their loved ones - they all reminded me of ants, because ants they basically were. "You won't save your 'loved' ones...love is a myth. I only feel pain, and so shall all of you," I muttered to myself as I turned around for another go. I crashed into the highway again, causing another truncation of the long manmade thing. More chaos erupted, and pleasure took root in my mind at this cruel view. I ended it by flying alongside the bridge, my claws extended. I ran them over the metal wires supporting the road below. They snapped promptly as I passed each one, and I left only a few to hold together this structure so that it would be a gateway symbolizing the old world and the new under me. The Golden Gate Bridge shook, its wires snapping and flying about. Some of the sharp edges whipped and killed a few scumbags below, to which I shrugged off as another natural part of this destruction. I decided to head back to where I began my vengeance, as it was high time I end the chaos and settle a bit.
After landing at the site, my eyes gazed skyward as I noticed the black hole in the clouds had gotten a bit larger. "It must be nothing. It is merely a mark to which I can now comfortably live under," I concluded. My breaths slowed down, my fury quenched for the moment. I stared out at my awe-inspiring accomplishment. The thriving city of San Francisco was now in ruin, almost everything that stood tall and patriotic now bowed to my feet as dirt. Some buildings were left standing, a few only partially and others on fire. The bridge I had just annihilated lied in the far distance, barely standing and now droopy and weak in appearance. Smoke fumed up into the atmosphere from above a few of the infernos I left. I flipped my attention to the casualties of the situation - the humans. I saw the darkness and lack of life in the area. The shine of blood now lies atop the pavement, sidewalks, and remains of buildings. Charred corpses and lumps of tissue unidentifiable to their origins were strewn everywhere. A few fortunate souls were up and limping around, trying to get somewhere no longer important; some were wounded on the ground, missing limbs or other major body parts. Cries of suffering could be heard all around. Coughing, chocking, and screaming snuck their ways into my earholes. Burnt flesh and fresh blood were the stenches of my victory, slowly making their way into my nostrils. The air was filled with the small particles of dust and decay from the downed fabrications, some of the miniscule molecules landing upon my tongue and leaving a dry taste in my mouth.
Right now, I did not smile. However, nor did I take any pity by any means to mankind...they did not deserve my sympathy. Instead, I was indifferent, on the fence between feeling the pain and the satisfaction. My face was now calm in composure, loose of the anger marks I had created before. Now that the onslaught had finished, I knew what would come next. "From the ashes of this fallen society, my new empire will rise above the ruin and I shall take my new throne with dignity," I said aloud to myself.
I paused for a few more minutes. "Indeed...my kingdom," I muttered. With this, I, the seventeenth lagaareyy, would be known to the world, and soon enough all of humanity will realize its inevitability to survive against me. Armies will bow once again in reverence to my all-knowing wisdom and power, and any to try to stop me will be punished. Now...my rule has officially begun.
Meanwhile, in Wild pack territory...
Killer POV
I watched as Belladonna, Red, Carface, and those three dragon guys left the Wild pack's prime alley. "Why does Carface choose to do what those demons say?" I wondered. "I remember a time when he did the right thing, and helped Charlie and his friends defeat Belladonna. Now, he serves her again, as well as his other previous master. Then there are those dragons...they still give me the creeps. The main one...Azoozol?...Belladonna says he has some important ancient ties that will give him 'infinite power.' What's with everyone wanting this power, power, power? I wish I could go back to the old days, with me and Carface back in New Orleans. I loved being his sidekick...I just hate it when otherworldly creatures get involved."
"Hey, Killer! You get over here und bring me 'nother steak, yes comrade?" I heard Otto inquire.
I sighed and did as he said, knowing very well that if I didn't, Otto would send the rest of the gang on me. I barely made it in here in the first place...I remembered very well when I joined the Wild pack. Carface had been dead for a week, and now the only "friend" I could've said I had was gone from the world. That's when the thought of Carface's old gang popped into my head. I begged to be allowed to join, as I needed a new purpose. Otto graciously accepted, but only on the terms I be the lowest one of the group and would do anything they asked of me. Most of the time, this meant bringing them things or cleaning their already broken motorcycle. Otto would always comment that the Chopper was just a sign of the Wild pack now, after that run-in with that guardian angel Lance.
I handed him the cold meat, and he snatched it from my paw, grinning with an arrogance. "Just think, comrades," he began, "We will be having that power zat, um - Bella...Bella...Belladonna, that's it! Zat Belladonna promised we would be having. We will be ze strongest gang in ze city...then we take what we want, and zat Charlie Barkin won't know what hit him!"
Yellow Beard, Scarface, and Bruiser all let out hearty laughs, while I only chuckled lightly. I didn't think like these guys did; all I wanted was a moderate role in getting some money from a business as a lower manager. I didn't want to steal from others...unless it was gambling. Forcing oneself to give me their stuff wasn't an appealing idea in my mind, but my opinion held no weight here.
After another twenty minutes, a huge beam of light suddenly struck the skies, and I saw that Azoozol rise up in it. He got much bigger and then the beacon turned black and something dark began forming on him. I then took notice that this was armour, and shortly after the huge dark pillar faded away, and the dragon fell to the ground in the city. It was difficult to see him now in the lower areas, but I saw bolts of lightning streak in many directions. Just then, he flew up into the sky and blew a fire bigger than any I had ever seen...even bigger than any of Belladonna's! I watched in awe for more minutes as I could hear the crumbling skyscrapers and shrieking of the public.
"Uh...he seems like, um...angry I think," Yellow Beard dumbly commented. "He is destroying the humans's stuffs, and soon all the persons will try to stop him."
"No-one will stop him, I assure you," a familiar voice retorted. It was Belladonna, followed by Red and Carface.
"W-why are you guys back?" I thought you were all helping that dragon king boss get ultimate power or something," I queried.
"All we had to do was make sure the ritual he did was uninterrupted. He can take care of the rest himself. It's the aftermath I will really get my paws on."
"You mean OUR paws?" Red added. Belladonna nodded, but something told me by her look that didn't seem to be her actual plan.
"Where's those other dragons?" Scarface squeaked, the sun gleaming off of his greasy black fur and sunglasses. "I thought they would've come back with you, but they aren't with you."
Belladonna responded, "Oh...they wanted to watch as well, but from a closer location, so I let them. It's beautiful though, isn't it? Seeing a bloody revolution caused by a desire for revenge? It makes me feel like I did something great for my Lord. He will definitely reward me for this...I can see it coming!"
"WE will be rewarded Belladonna. Remember, dog? I'm here too," Red hissed. I could tell Belladonna didn't want to share the spotlight with Red, but she let out a big breath and agreed.
As the dragon king ravaged the majority of San Francisco, I could only feel wrong inside for being part of it. This inner doubt caused me to look up to Heaven and notice that a huge black hole was now an apparent problem sitting in the clouds. It appeared pretty big, and I could tell already this couldn't mean anything good. This uneasy feeling washed over me as I whispered to myself, "What have you gotten yourself into, Killer?"
At the same time, at the Flea Bite...
Kate POV
"Alright everyone, the Fall Fest will be beginning here real soon," Sasha started. She was frantically running about making sure everything looked perfect for some more dogs. "It starts at 12:00. Canines from around the city will be arriving here any minute!"
"Sash, you can calm down. Everything is perfect; you can relax and actually try to have fun with the rest of us now!" Charlie joked.
Sasha let out a breath of relief and replied, "For once, you're right Charlie!"
"Hey!" he argued laughing. "I can be right MOST if not ALL the time!"
"In your dreams, Mr. Guardian Angel!" she giggled as walked up and kissed him for a minute. When she released herself from him, he had a smug and content look on his face.
"That was a good one. How bout again?" he bragged.
She rolled her eyes and was about to do so again, until she saw a guest arrive from the entrance. She ran past Charlie, his face a tad annoyed. "Hello! Welcome to the Flea Bite's Fall Fest!" she welcomed enthusiastically. She stopped herself and began to grimace. "Oh...it's just YOU, Manfred..."
"Manfred? Who's Manfred?" I pondered. Obviously this dog was not well-liked by Sasha or her friends, as Charlie, Itchy, and Gerta all glared at him. "Who is Manfred?" I whispered to Lance, who was sitting next to me.
He turned his head and opened his mouth, saying, "That I know of...not too much. I know Charlie and Itchy don't like him. Something about him once going out with Itchy's girlfriend and not leaving her alone - I guess I can see why Itchy wouldn't like him."
"Aw, c'mon guys...I know you don't want me talkin' to Bess and whatnot...where is she?" He seemed completely focused on his conversation with Sasha, almost oblivious to the wolves sitting in other parts of the alleyway dog hangout.
"You're damn right we don't want you talking to her! She's Itchy's girlfriend now, not yours! She dumped you after finding out what a jerk you are!" Sasha defended. "And just so you know, she's not here yet...and you won't be seeing her."
"Really?" he asked cockily. "How ya gonna do that?"
"Yeah. Garth, will you kindly remove Manfred here from the premises?"
"Garth? Who the hell is Gar -" he stopped and stared at Garth, who stepped up behind him, in fear. "Really big wolf! Uh...sorry to have caused a disturbance! I gotta get outta here!" He scrambled away with his tail between his legs.
"Good he's gone..." she sighed. As he left, I saw a large dog with fancier human apparel on, as well as a small and fluffy girl dog approach from outside.
"I told you, MC, I will not have dinner with you!" she declared. She turned her attention to the café and Sasha. "Sasha, it's great to see you! Where's my Itchy-kins?"
"Well Bess, he's right over there in the table area," Sasha explained. "However, you may find that there are -"
Her explanation was drowned out by Bess' screams. "AHHH! W-WOLVES! ITCHY, EVERYONE RUN! THEY'RE HERE TO EAT US!"
She was pacing around in circles when the bigger dog joined in, "Wolves? Sasha! Why are a bunch of wolves invading the café?!"
"Oh dear lord..." Sasha muttered.
"Bess! Bess! BESS!" Itchy was yelling, trying to get her attention. Once she was staring at him, he continued. "These wolves aren't going to eat us; me and Charlie's last mission involved us going and helping these guys out. In fact, I'd have to say they're some of the best canines I've ever met! You have to calm down and trust me. They will NOT eat you."
Bess blinked a few times, absorbing all that her boyfriend had just said. "Alright...Itchy dear. I will try to not run from these wolves - as long as you're beside me, I can't be scared." I saw Itchy blush when she said this.
The clothing-wearing dog was still panicked, until Gerta went up and slapped him hard in the face. "Yo! Labrador MC! Did you hear a damn thing that Itchy just said? These guys ain't gonna hurt ya! Settle down and get the entertainment ready for the festival!"
This Labrador MC guy shook his head and collected himself. "Right, right. I was only acting to make myself more welcoming to the wolves," he lied. Man, I could see already this guy had an...interesting character.
"More customers will be coming in; we'll just have to convince them none of you are a threat. However, we have to make sure our guards are still doing their jobs right. Do you hear me, Harrold, Garth, Hutch, and Cando?" Sasha questioned. Most of them answered accordingly, letting her know they understood their roles would soon be needed.
For the next half hour, more and more dogs from around the human city came in. Most of them were shocked when they arrived, but as more of their kind came, they were increasingly comfortable around us as they saw other dogs hanging around us already. When this domesticated party began to take some motion, many dogs didn't even take much notice at us from the United and Pride packs. This gave me pleasure, knowing that our kinds could indeed learn to like each other, and that we weren't too far apart to settle our differences.
I scanned the place of all that was going on. I saw the section that I think was called the bar to find dogs sitting atop manmade seating while they drank various liquids from glass containers. Gerta was here, dispersing the drinks to everydog. Then I looked at the table area to find a group of dogs including Charlie all in all circle. They were holding some weird thin pieces of bark with writing on them. Some bones were sitting on the table, each dog holding his own share of the total. This seemed like some sort of betting game, as each dog looked at the little bark chips and put in a certain amount of his bones based on his confidence in the writing on them. I don't think I'll ever understand these weird canine customs...but I definitely won't argue against them either. I saw Itchy and Bess sitting together in a corner, enjoying each others' company. Marcel and Paddy were standing in front of some random mutts, Marcel making golflike gestures to explain something about that strange sport. The rest of the wolves, like Tony, were sitting among the rest of the dogs and conversing about random things. On the platform where entertainment was being hosted, Labrador MC announced the acts of the dogs performing for everyone else. "I bet some of us alpha wolves could show these dogs a thing or two up there." This is when Sasha padded out from behind a wall, her fur now neatly combed to perfection. She looked dazzling and her voice sounded heavenly when she began to sing. Although wolves usually just howl (that's our singing basically), I took a liking to singing as well.
Many of the male dogs from the table area perked up at the sight of her. I could see why - in the dog world, she seemed like a goddess. As she swung her hips around and flicked her tail at the guests, all the guys just drooled and fell head-over-paws for her. A few of them even tried to approach the raised area where she was to try and touch her elegant fur, but I could see Hutch and Cando growling at them to sit back down. The words of her song flowed from her lips like a river, streaming into the ears of the Flea Bite customers. Her great singing couldn't last forever, however, as she ended and took her leave behind the wall again. The café erupted into applause, many of the males howling like wolves (not very well) to see more. I giggled and remembered how Humphrey would act like this to get my attention.
Speaking of Humphrey, where is he? After searching around this place for a good five minutes, I finally spotted him with his three friends and some other dirtier-looking dogs. As I got closer, I could see all of them playing some sort of game using a small rock. They were hitting it around with their paws, keeping from hitting the ground. "You see? I told you guys it's a lot like berry toss!" Humphrey exclaimed. The small dirty mutts playing around with them seemed less domesticated, as they were pretty dirty and likely lived in that abandoned area of this city. Therefore, I guess I saw it fitting these free canines actually blended well with these wolves.
I approached Humphrey from behind and covered his eyes with my paws. "Guess who," I stated playfully.
"Hmm...it couldn't be the world's best mate, now could it?" he chuckled.
"Maybe..."
"Well then, guess that answers my question," he twisted around to meet my face. "Hey beautiful."
"Hey yourself," I giggled. "How are you liking this dog celebration?"
"It's great! I mean, I wonder why we don't have these kinds of things up in Jasper! When we get back to Jasper, we should definitely think of having parties like this in the United pack."
"I'll back you up on that one," I supported.
"Yeah, me too, dude," Salty added.
Just then, the atmosphere of the Flea Bite changed when another singer, this one a short little female dog similar to Bess, began to harmonize with the mood, creating a slower and more romantic setting. I realized this was supposed to be for mates and couples to dance together. "C'mon Humphrey. We should dance together," I suggested.
"Me...dance? Uh, I'm not very good at that..."
"Come here, you." I grabbed his paw and led him to an open area, where we placed our front paws on each other and stood on our hind legs. We swayed together with the rhythm of the music, as I laid my head down on his shoulder. "This is perfect," I whispered.
"Yeah, especially since its with you, Kate." I smiled and peered around, seeing Bess and Itchy as well as Charlie and Sasha get together and do something similar. That's when I noticed it: Luna tiptoed over to Lance. She patted him on the shoulder and she asked if he wanted to dance with her. He blushed madly at this and stuttered "yes" for answer, almost losing himself in his own nervousness. She brought him to the open space and took the lead, the two of them awkwardly dancing together with the slow song. It was cute though, Luna showing her newfound affections for Lance here...or maybe she was just thankful for him saving her life. Either way, they looked like a good-looking couple to me.
That's when IT started.
Just another great moment in my life was taking place, an unexpected spectacle occurred. From outside the rim of human homes surrounding the dog hotspot, a huge pillar of light appeared from the ground to the sky some distance away. "What is that?" I heard a random dog ask.
Some dogs began to panic, and others watched in awe as some figure rose up in the light and floated in midair. It was hard to see this individual from this distance, but from what I could see, it seemed to get bigger. The details I could make out were that it definitely wasn't human...or canine. A minute later, what was once a white beam turned into a dark and unwelcoming beacon. This time, the forces in it seemed to add more to the sky being, something black and heavy on top of its surface. I made out that it was some sort of armour. "But why would this creature need armour?"
The giant beam faded soon after, and the colossus returned to the ground past the buildings ahead, so I could no longer see what was happening. "Who was that?" Charlie inquired.
"I dunno," Tony answered, "But I sure don't want to find out."
Suddenly, screams for help came from the city as I heard crushing and destruction over in that direction. I paused in one spot for a moment, thinking what to make of the situation. Unfortunately, that moment was wasted as a big chunk of a human building crashed into the café. It fell on top of one dog's back end, a big crunching sound resulting from the snapping of his bones. His blood splattered outward on the ground, and he only lived a few more seconds before collapsing. I was in shock at seeing this. Other dogs and even some members of the packs started to become frantic. I couldn't move though; my body refused to listen to my mind, telling it to get out of here as fast as I could. In the air above us, I saw flames of blackness, their heat so strong I could feel it from the incredible distance it was away. I watched as time slowed down, frame by frame, and my just calm and peaceful reality had been changed to complete chaos in a matter of minutes. Everybody but me was moving now, trying to avoid debris falling from the skies above us. More and more crashed into this once-happy domain, some of the objects flattening poor dogs. The two filthy undomesticated dogs Humphrey was playing with earlier were now dead, one covered in shattered glass and the other cut in half because a piece of metal sliced him down his body. My mind was still entranced...unable to go anywhere as long as I was watching this horrific scene unfold.
"KATE!" I suddenly heard someone call my name. I blinked and brought myself back to reality. It was Humphrey; apparently, he had been calling my name multiple times but I was too trapped in that alternate realm to have heard him.
"Yes?"
"We gotta get out of here! We could die if we don't move soon!" he yelled.
I promptly nodded and followed him as we ran towards the entrance with the other canines. Out of nowhere, a medium-sized piece of rocklike substance hit Humphrey from above, knocking him down and leaving a big gash in his back. He wasn't moving, and I couldn't tell it he had...
"Humphrey?! Humphrey, get up! Get up...please!" I shouted with tears beginning to form in my eyes.
I was about to take his body and drag it to the entrance, when I look up and see a small piece of debris head straight for me. I had no time to react, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground too. Then everything went black.
And that's it! This was the longest chapter of "Inchoation" so far. How was it? Yes? No? Maybe so? This chapter acted as a subclimax to the story, so now the rest of the plot can begin. What will happen next for Azxoll? How about the dogs and wolves? Please stay tuned and favourite, follow, and review, my friends!
Although it's a little late, this is also my Valentine's Day update basically. In opinion, this chapter may just show my feelings for this dreaded day. I take no pleasure in such a holiday, as I always spend it alone, just like Azxoll here. I decided to give a feeling of hopefulness and love at the Fall Festival, only to have it snatched away by a darker force known as revenge. I guess I'm creating an underlying theme here...that not always does life work out and sometimes it can be a living hell. Good for all of you happy couples out there...but be aware there are many out there like me as well. Still, I digress. Hope you "loved" this chapter. Until the eleventh then...
KingAzxoll9 signing off