Author's Note : Sorry for the delay. I promise you, I am trying to write this more often. :/
...
~Chapter 11~
Arrow's mind was whirling with information that was trying to process faster than it could. Surrounding S.S.A.O.N.A Pack buildings - groups of members that were stationed all around California and the United States - near Headquarters has been attacked by Volt's agents. Three buildings with no less than seventy dogs at each one, not but a few miles away from HQ, were struggling to rid themselves of the intruders. Not only were these dark agents attacking, they were also capturing S.S.A.O.N.A members, harming them whenever they found necessary.
Arrow couldn't do anything to help them right now, all that he could do was hope that Volt didn't plan to attack Headquarters. In the short time since the whole electricity went off and Sypher had left, everything had fallen apart and was continuing to crumble. And that was only twenty minutes ago.
He shut his eyes and tried to concentrate. The only way of communicating was through paw-cams, which ran off of the city's power sources, though even using those there was a sketchy connection. And Sypher, who he needed at the S.S.A.O.N.A right now, would not answer his paw-cam.
At least one of the Pack building leaders had been able to reach a connection to Arrow, had told them of the other attacks and that they needed reinforcements. He had said that Volt's agents had injured five dogs already and that they were relentless. The computers were down there as well, and they only knew of the other attacks by messenger dogs. The established link had cut off right them, whether it was done by the paw-cam or something else even worse.
Opening his eyes, he turned to Maria, who was sitting and looking concerned. Concerned, but ready to do something. He felt the exact way.
"Arrow, should I get Raider to take a group out there?" She had a waver to her voice, but cleared it and continued. "We can distribute three seperate groups to either building to help them."
"The only thing I am afraid of is Volt coming to attack here," Arrow sighed. "Without Sypher here, we really have no one else able to take on Volt's dark dogs, except for Raider and his small group. And we obviously don't have Rain . . ."
"Or Angel."
Suddenly there were loud thumps running down the hallway. They turned their heads to see Carter, the Dalmatian, running toward them at full speed, barely able to slow before coming to an abrupt stop at their paws.
"Aaaaaarrrrrooooooowwwwww!" Carter screamed, breathing hard and standing up. "Security breach, security breach!"
"What?" Maria said before Arrow could. "Security breach?"
"Yes!" Carter swung his head back to look behind him, as if worried someone might have followed him up to the top level of the large building. For once, he was not smiling and all the joke that was normally there was gone. "He's here!"
...
Screens flickered from one picture to another, with five seconds in between each changing. They were live cameras, but the pictures were blurry and at times it cut off completely.
Angel watched in horror from her cage across the room as Volt's dogs fought against agents of the society, vicious and non-stop. They didn't care who they hurt, so long as it took down more of the good team.
The dog at the screen was obviously growing bored of watching the chaos; Angel, though his back was turned to her, could hear him yawn and mumble under his breath. A minute later he typed some commands into the computer and the live videos changed to a very blurry yet familiar street.
Squinting hard, Angel could pick out three dogs standing across from Bolt's house, lit only by the few streetlights that were casting low, yellowish light. There was no sound to the video, only a picture that was grainy and moved slow to match the three dogs movements. She couldn't seem to recognize who the dogs were.
Behind her there was a gasp of surprise. She whipped her head around, forgetting that in the cage she was with Kemp and Poppy as well, being held captive as forced to watch as Volt attacked S.S.A.O.N.A buildings.
Turning back to the screen, Angel was barely able to see one of the dog's as they shifted in their place, the light hitting at the perfect angle. It was undoubtedly Sypher, and he did not look pleased. Standing across from him, she could now make out Rain - the dog that had betrayed them - who was looking pleased as he glanced at the third and final dog. It took her another second to figure out who the third dog was, but when she recognized him she gave a near silent gasp.
Because seeing Sypher, who's job was to protect any and all of the S.S.A.O.N.A members and Bolt himself, Rain, who was now just as evil as the devious Volt, and Bolt, who knew nothing about what was going on, she knew something was wrong.
"Angel," Poppy whispered into her ear. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Kemp nodded his agreement, looking unsettled. He set his eyes on the screen again, and they all quietly watched the three dogs.
The dog at the screen, sensing their sudden new interest in the live recording, turned and smirked at them. "Volt has had this planned out for quite a long while now."
Angel snarled at the brown pelted dog, but she didn't take her eyes off the computer. She did not want to miss any important detail, though she had no clue of what use would it be. She was locked up with two other society members, and they couldn't do anything about it.
On the screen, the white dog mouthed something that Angel couldn't understand, for there was no audio, and Sypher nodded, the movement tense and jerky, mostly because of the recording.
Several seconds later, Rain turned and left without a glance back, walking out of sight of the camera with a smile that was not hidden. And then Sypher nodded to Bolt's house, and to Bolt, more than likely telling him to go home.
It was maddening that Angel could not hear the actual conversation, nor could she be right there to help them. If she had been at Headquarters right then, Arrow probably would have sent her out to deliver messages to the attacked Pack groups, and to those surrounding so they knew what was happening.
When she drew her attention back on the screen, moments later, she no longer saw Bolt and Sypher was across the street, staring at the short fence. As he turned to walk away, something leapt on him from the shadows.
Angel gasped and the screen instantly changed to a view inside of another Pack building, one that was now being raided by Volt's agents. She wished the screen hadn't changed, to go back and see if the Cattle Dog would be okay, because she knew that he had no way of contacting HQ; his paw-cam was not attached to his front paw.
...
"Well, though this talk has been quite pleasant," Rain said after a moment of silence between the three dogs. "I must be heading back home now."
"Yes, you probably should," Sypher said, barely hiding the a snarl. Rain only looked amused.
Bolt watched as Rain left them, noting a smile that made the fur on his back prickle. He shook off the feeling, glad that the mysterious and strange dog was gone.
"Syph," Bolt looked at him questioningly. "Who was that?"
Sypher grunted and started walking across the street, towards Bolt's house, with Bolt following. "Just some dog I know."
"I see that," Bolt matched his pace with the other dog's. "But why would you tell him about me, if you two don't seem to be the best of friends?"
"It's complicated."
A moment of silence. Then, "Sure it is."
Sypher turned to Bolt, now that they were right outside his yard. "Bolt, it is more complex and complicated than you can imagine. Rain has his way of . . . finding things out. But he's just another dog. You don't need to question me on any of these things."
"Because you won't answer my questions?" Bolt smirked, glancing up at the sky that was covered in clouds, the moon that was barely visible by now. "Oh well, Syph. If you say so."
"You'd better get inside before Mittens starts to wonder," said Sypher, nodding at the opened gate. "We wouldn't want you to get in trouble with her just for coming out and enjoying the night air."
The white dog laughed, nodding his head. "Alright, thanks, Syph." He turned and walked in, but stopped short. "And good night, since it does seem to be one of those nights."
"Indeed. Goodnight, Bolt."
He waited until he heard Bolt go in through the doggy door, safe and sound back inside, and turned to leave. As soon as he did, however, something flew into him and started attacking him. He was caught by surprise, but his fighting instincts kicked in and he was pushing against the other dog.
The dog, who seemed faceless and a blur to Sypher's eyes, was relentless with his attacks, going for anything he could get. Sypher had a strategy, but it wasn't working when he was the one on the ground.
Sypher bit the dog's leg and pulled, making the dog stumble, giving Sypher enough time to push him off. The dog landed on his side, but was up in an instant, growling and showing long, pointed fangs.
Without even a hesitant moment, the dog lunged again. Sypher was prepared and ducked, but he didn't notice the short dip from the concrete sidewalk to the floor, and he stumbled, but recovered fast. The dog was getting ready to leap again, and Sypher quickly formed out a strategy in his mind, praying that it all worked out.
Sypher jumped for the dog when it leapt at him, both of them hitting each other and the ground. Sypher sensed this as the perfect oppurtunity and grabbed the dog by it's neck, hurling it across the empty road. It didn't seem to bother the dog, for he was up in a blink, charging again to renew his attack. Sypher jumped onto the dog, holding him down despite the way the dog twisted and turned. The dog stopped for a moment, and as Sypher took a quick half-second to blink the sweat from his eyes the dog somehow contorted his body and moved in a way that sent Sypher to the ground. Now the dog was on him, and he was stuck on the ground again, Sypher had a moment to look up into the dog's eyes.
Those same eyes that looked as though they were storm clouds themselves stared down at him, a pleased grin across the dog's muzzle. They were both out of breath from the brawl, but Rain didn't miss a chance to give a low chuckle.
He should have expected Rain to do this, since he was about the only one who could come close to matching Sypher's unnormal strength. And there was a reason that Rain came so close to that - because Sypher had trained him his entire life.
"Honestly, Syph," Rain whispered, only just loud enough. "Volt has changed me in more ways than you could ever do, more than you ever would."
"I didn't let you become one of those dog's who could hurt another dog and be fine with it," Sypher replied, twisting his neck so he could glare at Rain. "Volt's dogs don't care if they murder someone, all they care about is destruction, killing, and getting Volt's praise."
"We're dogs, Syph," Rain cocked his head to the side. "Our instincts tell us to attack, to kill, who is going to be the most help? Someone who demands us not do what we want, or someone who lets us become what we want to?"
This time, it was Sypher who grinned, looking up at the other dog. "Seriosuly, Rain? You're asking me that question. Because I think I know the answer, and it isn't what you think of Volt as." With a push of his back legs, Sypher sent Rain flying off of him, and he got up, ready to challenge someone who would not hesitate to kill.
