Sorry it took so long from me to update. I've been a bit busy lately and my inspiration is failing me more often than I'd like. Still, summer vacation has started for me and I should be able to get back into gear. Hopefully, I get the opportunity to actually write and I can update consistently.

I have a couple lyrics from the song Whispers in the Dark by Skillet. I thought these words in the song fit extremely well during this moment so I threw them in there.

Also, I'll be putting in a short scene involving an event in recent American history. I don't mean to open up old wounds for anyone. It was just the only thing that came to mind at the time I was writing this. The scene goes in order, but in a condensed amount of time. So instead of it taking hours, only the major parts are shown.

Chapter 24

Feeling guilty for what Lucky had caught her and Fang doing, Max avoids looking at her parents. The Dalmatian hasn't brought the subject up yet and he doesn't appear to actually care that they were losing control. Instead, Lucky is wearing a careful mask to hide his growing concern for his older brother.

Noticing the three are standing there, Kiska sighs and beckons them closer. Fang is the first to step forward while Max hesitates due to her uneasiness. Lucky bites his lip as he tries to walk over. His wounds are bringing him pain and he's forcing himself to do too much, too soon.

"Lucky, you shouldn't be out of bed," Valencia scolds as Jeb goes over to help the hybrid stand.

"I'm fine," the Dalmatian grunts as he attempts to get out of Jeb's hold.

Kiska bites back a small chuckle. Her son is so stubborn despite how much trouble he's obviously having. Still, he's overexerting himself. The hospital-like room he'd been placed in was right down the hall, but for reasons Kiska doesn't know, he'd ventured upstairs before coming down this way. Eyeing the two teens beside her, the grey wolf decides that Lucky's detour concerned them.

Lucky's fight against Jeb increases as he insists on seeing his brother. Suddenly, he releases a cry and his features contort in agony. He becomes dead weight in Jeb's arms and falls to the floor where he writhes in pain. His white fur becomes matted and stained with blood from a wound that had been reopened due to his struggling. Lucky tries to clutch the injury, but his two bandaged arms don't allow him too. But the wound isn't the main concern.

"Make him stop!" Lucky cries repeatedly as he squeezes his eyes together to prevent tears from falling. He's attempting to grab his side and his head at the same time.

Kiska rushes into the room where Hunter is being contained and the hybrid snaps his head up to look at her. The dark wolf chuckles darkly and Lucky's voice quiets as Hunter stops torturing his younger brother's mind.

"Just because you've put me in this room, doesn't mean I can't do any harm," he states with a twisted smirk.

Shooting Dark Hunter a glare, Kiska slowly makes her way back to her other son. Fang and Jeb have gotten him back on his feet, but his head is drooped from the exhausting resistance he put up against Hunter's invasion into his mind.

"Your brother isn't in there, Lucky," Kiska says regretfully. "You don't want to see him. Go back to your room and let Valencia stitch you back up," the leader orders. "Don't come back out until you've recovered more."

Since her son is left with no other option, he allows Jeb and Valencia to return him to his room. Max and Fang remain beside Kiska, uncertain what they should do. Hesitantly, Max speaks up.

"I want to talk to him."

Fang scoffs as Kiska groans in frustration. It seems that no one is capable of comprehending how serious the current situation truly is.

Massaging her temples, Kiska says, "Fine. There's no point in arguing. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

Motioning Max towards the door, Kiska allows her to enter the room. Fang closely follows his girlfriend in case he's needed to restrain the demon they're about to face. Crimson eyes miss nothing as they follow the newcomers entering the room. Dark Hunter appears bored as he stares at them from where he sits in the center of his cage.

"What happened to you?" Max asks quietly yet at the same time in a strong and steady voice as she observes the creature before her who's radiating pure evil. "What happened to your heart, Hunter?" There's a hint of anger in her voice that neither Fang nor the wolf miss.

Dark Hunter shakes his head as if finding the question amusing. "You're all so foolish," he states with a laugh. "I exist to extinguish all the good in the world. I don't deny that I have a heart," he comments. "I'm mortal after all. My heart is frozen and made of stone. That's what happened to it. It's no longer warm and soft."

"What are you talking about?!" Max demands. "You're still the same Hunter we all know and love. Open your eyes!"

The experiment snorts at the comment as Fang uses his power to calm Max's anger. Hunter closes his eyes as if he can't even look at the two teens.

"Pathetic," he mutters. "That's what you are. And that was how I used to be until I finally opened my eyes to who I really am, before I accepted my true self. As much as I hate it, my heart used to be like the two of yours. There had been a time when I used to feel and now to my pleasure, my heart is just the organ that keeps me alive. The only sentiments that I feel are hatred and those similar to it."

Hunter cracks an eye open to observe the reactions of Max and Fang. Fang is doing a fairly good job of keeping Max from lashing out at him. The grey wolf's ear twitches at a noise and peers over at the door. It slowly opens when his eyes land on it and Angie enters the room.

"I don't understand why you're all making a big spectacle over this," Dark Hunter grumbles as his wife comes to stand beside Fang and Max. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that this is who I am and always was?"

"Because I know my Hunter and he still exists. He isn't gone forever despite how much you tell us otherwise," Angie responds as she stares at the floor. "No matter how much you try to scare us, we all know that the real Hunter is still deep down within you."

Dark Hunter grunts at this and comes to stand upright. He walks up to the bars that separate him from the room's three other occupants and grasps the metal as he leans towards them. His head is tilted downwards as he does this, but then, his head lifts slightly and his expression is completely blank. Hunter's face is completely unreadable yet extremely intimidating because they have no clue what he's thinking.

"Denial leads to mistakes," he murmurs threateningly. "In the end, it'll only result in your deaths. It's inevitable." His words shock their very cores and they involuntarily cringe.

His red-gold eyes come up to meet each of theirs and when they do, it feels as if they're piercing the souls within. His cold stare hypnotizes the three and causes a numbing effect on their bodies. A cold sensation seeps into them and goose bumps rise on their skin as they unwillingly stare into Dark Hunter's eyes. The room almost seems darker as they hear barely audible whispers of evil in what sounds like Hunter's voice. Yet the experiment's mouth doesn't move even the slightest.

You'll never be alone

When darkness comes you know I'm never far

I will be the one that's gonna find you

A sudden smirk appears on Dark Hunter's face and the trio can't comprehend why it's there. They're paralyzed and their thoughts are so far gone that they fail to notice the hybrid's body beginning to spark with electricity.

After building up his attack, Hunter sends it directly towards Max, Fang, and his own wife. They remain rooted to where they stand and just continue to stare into those evil red orbs as the shock shoots at them.

A flicker of chestnut fur appears in front of them before a loud howl of pain snaps the trio out of their nearly deadly trance. Rollo stands before them with his back to Hunter and his arms spread out protectively as the electricity courses through his body. His eyes are bulging and his mouth is opened as a bloodcurdling cry tears from his throat. Rollo has trouble maintaining his form and shifts erratically between his wolf and human forms.

Hunter mutters a curse under his breath as his attack gradually ceases and his old friend falls to his hands and knees, breathing erratically. The red wolf, who has returned to his normal intermediate phase, forces a chuckle and slowly lifts his head to acknowledge his companions whose lives he just saved.

"Birds don't do well with electricity," he jokes before amber eyes roll back in his head and he collapses in a heap on the ground.

Frantically, Angie crouches beside him and turns Rollo over. His breathing is shallow and his pulse is hard to pick up, but he's still alive. Rollo forces his eyes to open again as he peers over at the fuming Hunter behind the strong bars.

'You really meant to kill them,' the red canine thinks to himself. 'If I hadn't intervened…if I hadn't prepared myself for that attack…'

Rollo's vision goes black and his thoughts trail off as he blacks out. His body spasms somewhat periodically as a result of the electricity that shot through him. He needs medical treatment as soon as possible.

Hauling up Rollo's limp body, Angie eyes Dark Hunter nervously before turning her gaze to the floor sadly. Unable to speak, the golden experiment motions for Max and Fang to follow her. They obey without question because they'd rather take orders than remain with the unstable being confined in the room.

Assisting Angie in carrying Rollo, Fang slings one of the red wolf's arms over his shoulder to support some of the weight. As they all leave, they can feel Dark Hunter's eyes boring into their backs as he glares hatefully at them. As they exit the room, they come across Faith who is looking through a window into the room her father is being kept in and appears distressed about something.

"Mom, why is Dad so black?" she asks quietly. The question baffles the three as they observe the little dog in confusion. "Normally, he's white like everyone else, like all of you," Faith continues as she gestures to Max, then Fang, Angie, and Rollo respectively.

"But now, there's only a little white right here," she say as she gestures to her heart before moving to her head. "And here." As she continues to stare into the room, her eyebrows furrow.

"Nevermind, the light by his head just faded out," she murmurs sadly. "It's only in Dad's heart now. It's only a flicker, but I can still see it."

"What are you talking about Faith?" Max asks in a strained voice. This day has been stressful and almost too much to bear.

The puppy tears her eyes away from the monster caged in the room to look up at Max. "I think I can see people's souls. Or at least the good and bad in them."

Max's eyes widen and she presses her face to the window to get another look at Hunter. She's sure the others behind her are just as shocked by Faith's words.

"Max, Fang and I will get Rollo to your mom. Take Faith and tell Kiska what's going on," Angie says in a rush which is no surprise. Hope is finally showing itself during this desolate time.

Speechless, Max merely nods and grabs Faith's hand to pull her away from the window. She shouldn't see her father like this anyway. As Max does this, she catches a glimpse of Dark Hunter's face. His expression is one of pure fury as he glares directly at her and Faith. It's as if he knows that his good half's daughter just shared the secret he was trying so desperately to hide. The secret that the total transformation of normal Hunter into Dark Hunter isn't quite complete yet, but nearly absolute.

It doesn't take long for them to find the leader. Kiska glances up at them the moment they enter the room. Max doesn't give the wolf a chance to ask why they're here because in an instant she's already explaining. Once Max finishes, Kiska blinks at her in surprise from both what was said and because the teen had said it all in one breath. Nudge must be rubbing off on her.

Kiska takes a moment to contemplate the information she's just received and comes up with a plan quickly. She walks down the hall with Max and Faith following close behind. As they move through the corridor, they meet Buck and Kiska tells him to move a television into Hunter's room. This leaves the Bernese, Max, and Faith confused, but they know better than to question the grey wolf.

Next, Kiska goes to another room and grabs a DVD. Her expression is almost regretful as she holds the movie between her fingers.

"What's that for?" Max finally asks, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.

"We need to be sure that the good, true Hunter still exists. This," she responds as she lifts up the DVD. "This has a memory that has the ability to make good people, especially Americans, feel sad and possibly cry. It's a true test to see if Hunter has been completely altered."

Turning to Faith, Kiska says "I need you to get Angel and Fang." Once the puppy has run off, the grey wolf turns to Max with a hint of a smile. "We should let the others know that there's still hope."

Since Rollo is closest, they check his 'hospital' room to see that he's already conscious again. When told the news, he grins widely and makes them promise to immediately tell him if anything else comes up. When they get to Lucky, the Dalmatian is grumbling under his breath while Star giggles at his antics. Apparently, he doesn't enjoy being literally strapped to his bed. Max is sort of glad that he is, however, because now that he knows his brother may end up all right after all, he won't force himself to get out of bed to check up on everything and hurt himself even further.

By the time Max and Kiska arrive back at Hunter's room, everything has been set up and Fang and Angel are already present. Inside the room, Buck has securely tied Dark Hunter to a chair as an extra precaution.

"Why are we here?" Fang asks in a bored tone.

"If Hunter is still in that monster, he won't want to watch this video," Kiska explains.

"So you want them to make sure he doesn't look away?" Max questions which the grey wolf responds to with a nod.

"It needs to be a team effort to make it easier. Fang needs to utilize his control over the shadows to prevent Hunter from turning his head away while Angel uses her mind control to keep his eyes on the TV and nothing else."

Looking down at the youngest flock member, Kiska puts on a serious face. "Do your best not to read his thoughts. It'll allow you to see whatever he sees and you don't want to witness what he's going to watch," she warns.

Nodding in understanding, Angel looks to Max nervously for support. Max picks up the six year old and places her on her hip.

"You'll do fine, Ange. Don't worry," she whispers comfortingly.

Kiska enters Dark Hunter's room, ignoring the taunts of its occupant. Wordlessly, she puts the DVD into the player and departs. Hunter stares at the screen curiously and when he hears talking, his ears immediately listen carefully. On the television, he can see what appears to be a home video as someone goes through a city for the first time. Unsure of what the point of watching this is, the experiment grunts in irritation.

Then he sees them, the buildings whose fates have already been sealed. He remembers this day so clearly. There's a loud noise that sounds like a low flying plane and Hunter finds himself pleading for what's about to come not to happen. But no one can change the past.

Just as a jet is about to crash into the World Trade Center, Hunter tries to turn his head away. But his head doesn't budge an inch and he frantically attempts to look anywhere but the television. His efforts are in vain and when the first plane finally slams into the side of the building, Hunter must bite his lip to prevent a pathetic whimper from escaping his throat.

The video smoothly cuts to another camera angle and smoke can be seen billowing out of the tower. As the hybrid hears the screams and curses of the people on the streets, Hunter is biting down on his lip so hard that he's drawing blood. He's filled with self loathing that he can't find pleasure in this evil. He hates that his good half is still in existence…and he can feel it getting stronger.

Forcing back the Good Hunter, the demon starts trembling from both the effort as well as the scene that continues to play before his blood red eyes. He's able to slowly weaken the light within him, but for some reason, he's incapable of ending its existence.

As the second plane comes into view, the so called monster finds himself wishing yet again for it to miss and someone to jump out and say this was all some sick and twisted joke. Then he could kill that person for making him feel these much unwanted sentiments.

The inevitable occurs and there's even more smoke, flames, and papers flying from the two towers. There's an increase in shouts from the people on the streets as well. Screams of 'Oh my god' along with curses are probably the most frequent. He can hear the witnesses crying as well as see them as they fall to their knees with their hands over their mouths as they stare up at the World Trade Center with pure horror on their faces.

Then, the shot is moved so only the buildings are visible. Dark smoke continues to pour out of the gaping holes and flames lick the sides of the buildings. The camera zooms in more and people above the holes can be seen sticking almost their entire bodies out the windows as they call for help. The flames in the floors below are making the floors above them burning hot.

The temperatures are so unbearable that some of the people end up throwing themselves out the window to escape it. Dark Hunter is just able to suppress the tears that sting his eyes, but he can't stop the hair-raising yell that erupts from deep within his chest.

"DARKNESS!! I'm your eternally loyal servant!" he shouts as his eyes remain unwillingly glued to the television. "Take me away from the light! Or give me the power to destroy them all!"

Outside the room, Max is rubbing Angel's back soothingly as she trembles in her arms with her face buried in Max's shoulder. The Hunter within the room seems to be the good one, but Angel can tell differently. His thoughts are just as dark and evil as ever causing Angel to feel scared and a bit sick.

Max peeks over at Fang to find his hands clenched into fists and beads of sweat forming on his brow from the effort to keep Hunter from looking away.

"DARKNESS, WHY ARE YOU ABANDONING ME?!"

When Kiska hears Hunter cry out, she knows that the towers have fallen and it's over. Swallowing hard, she tells Fang and Angel they can stop before entering the room once again. Dark Hunter's eyes are wide and frantic. Hysteria is evident in them when his crimson, gold eyes lock on hers.

"Get away from me!" the experiment yells at his mother as he fights against his bindings.

Again, this seems to give them all more hope that they can reverse the alteration. But then, as Hunter releases another terrifying wail, his fur becomes even blacker than it had been previously. His canines elongate and sharpen further. His eyes lose some of their gold tint and appear to be a deeper red. If possible, he looks more feral and psychotic. The raw fury in his eyes gives him a demonic appearance.

"Someone get Faith and tell Buck to get a tranquilizer," Kiska calls out to Max, Fang, and Angel.

It doesn't take long for the two to arrive and when they do, Kiska asks Faith to look at her father again.

"There's even less light than there was before," the puppy states dejectedly as she looks where Hunter's heart would be. "The little light that remains looks like it's warring with the surrounding darkness." Then quietly and hesitantly, she adds, "It's losing."

Giving Buck a nod, Kiska gives him permission to use the tranquilizer on Hunter. They may have confirmed that their good Hunter is still alive, but they also sent Dark Hunter into a frenzy that nearly eliminated the very thing they were searching for. The tranquilizer will force the experiment to calm down so he doesn't completely extinguish whatever good remains. With Dark Hunter unable to finish off his inner righteousness, it will allow them more time to solve this problem.

Hunter's screams die down as the hybrid slumps on his chair. Buck is about to exit the cell when Kiska stops him and enters the area as well.

"Help me bring him to another room," she orders and the Bernese unbinds the younger grey wolf so they can move him.

They move the hybrid to another room that has a metal table. They lay Hunter down on his side and clamp down his ankles and strap his neck to the table so he can't snap at them when he wakes.

"We need to find an antidote as soon as possible," Buck states as he leaves the room with Kiska. "Who knows how much time we have."

Sighing, the leader responds, "I know." Checking a nearby clock, Kiska comments that dinner should be ready about now.

The two silently go up to the kitchen where everyone, with the exception of Lucky and Rollo, is already gathered around. They pile food onto their plates and begin eating. About halfway through the meal, Kiska hears Valencia wonder why Dark Hunter has trouble eliminating the weak light that's still inside him. After a moment, the vet voices her question.

Before Kiska can respond, someone else does. "The light and dark hate each other, but neither can exist without the other," Fang states impassively causing Max to look at him strangely.

"That's true," Kiska says before adding, "And although they naturally resist each other, they're also curious about one another. That curiosity is how they try to take each other over. That's how Dark Hunter first gained control."

There's a brief pause before the grey wolf speaks again. "They use that curiosity or just resort to the plain annihilation of one another like Dark Hunter is currently attempting to do."

Yeah, that was a longer one and the ending was definitely not what I wanted, but I had no where else to go with this chapter. I think the next chapter will be up in a few days, but we'll see how much I get bothered by my brother and neighbor that I'm babysitting.