Author's Note: Okay, I'm really sorry for disappearing again. My computer's internet was super touchy, and then it just stopped working for a while. DARN YOU, STUPID INTERNET! *shakes fist* Anyway, it's working again (for now), so here's another chapter. Hope you like it, as always.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!

The winged wolf stopped, her ears pricked and eyes unfocused as she concentrated hard on what she thought she had just heard. 'Can you hear that, Thunder?'

Thunder strained his ears, desperately willing them to make out a sound. There it was. Barks and growls, mixed in with a few yells that were unmistakably human. 'Yeah, I hear it, WotS.'

WotS thought as she listened. Here and there, she she could swear she heard a yelp of pain... It's a fight! The realization clunked into place.

She turned back to the two humans behind her, who had stopped when WotS had picked up the sounds of the battle. "What did you hear?" asked Smash.

A fight. It sounds like dogs... But there are people there, too. Only a few, though.

"Should we go?"

I want to find out more about this. Stay or come with me, because I'm going no matter what. She turned then to Thunder. 'Do you want to come with me? I'm going to go take a look at that fight.'

'Okay.'

The other two had nodded. They were a team; they had to stick together.

The sounds of the battle got louder and louder as they approached. Pewdiepie winced as he heard an agonized wail-whether human or canine, he couldn't tell.

WotS beckoned them to a large boulder they could hide behind. They peered around the rock and examined the scene.

A large pack of wolves was surrounding a group of four or five people. Upon closer inspection, the wolves all had ugly, patchy fur and many had scars. When WotS saw their eyes, she knew these were no wolves. They were gleaming with malice, a malice that no ordinary wolf could pull off. Every inch of the wolf-like creatures screamed evil.

The people were all males, except for one black-haired girl. The evil things were circling them, and every once in a while, one would take a bite at them. All of them bore wounds, and one's leg was bleeding heavily. He clearly couldn't remain standing for much longer. Then he turned, and WotS saw his face. Or rather, the mask covering it.

Cry!

She focused on the others and realized who they were. Tobuscus was there... And Lasercorn, Mari, and Sohinki. They looked quite as tired and haggard as Pewdiepie and Smash. 'We have to help them!'

Tobuscus turned as they charged, and his eyes widened. "Help us!" he yelled.

WotS felt adrenaline rush to her muscles as she ran. She leapt onto the back of one of the beasts and tore into its skin and fur, gouging deep into its hide. The creature snarled, but it knew she had the upper paw. Instead, it dropped to the ground and started wriggling, trying to escape her grasp. Her hold on it was too tight. Her fangs guided themselves to the throat and pierced the life-giving vein. The creature shuddered, uttering one last growl before it went still. Quickly, WotS repeated the kill on another.

The fight was more evenly matched now, and WotS refused to let herself be cornered. Time slowed and everything blurred into a haze of blood and death. Most of the time, she simply felt nothing. These things were inherently evil. She felt no sympathy towards them. There were a few, though, who had a gleam in their eyes, the slightest glimmer of goodness. Those ones, she felt, had not been born this way. They'd been twisted and broken against their will until they were the depraved creatures she saw before her. They, surely, didn't deserve this fate. Did they?

Although she was doing well, the rest of the others weren't. Cry had collapsed, and Pewdiepie had taken up a position beside him, guarding his friend from further injury. There was, after all, only so much they could do with their fists. Thunder was doing surprisingly well, his claws stained with the strange orange-red blood of the creatures. He, WotS noticed, had yet to kill any of them, although he had wounded many of them. All of the sudden, the creatures retreated. They sank back into ragtag rows, cowering and groveling before one. One who seemed more powerful, more merciless, more evil than the rest. It turned toward the group, and WotS saw its horrid, deformed grin. She froze on the spot, her eyes bugged out and claws digging into the blood-soaked dirt. This was no ordinary beast. This was a monster.

It leered at her for a moment, then started stalking towards her. It spoke as it slunk forward, in a deep, growlly voice that made WotS shiver with fear. "Well, well, well. The rumors are true. The Star Wolf has returned. I thought I killed the last one years ago, and yet here you stand." He started circling WotS, still as she was. "But this isn't right. The Star Wolf is supposed to be brave, strong, courageous... and you cower before the mere sight of my face, the mere sound of my voice." He laughed a terrible laugh, baring his razor-sharp fangs. "You truly are a strange thing, you little freak. For if you are afraid of me... then you should not even consider trying to fight. For you will lose, lose horribly. I wouldn't want that to happen. It would be much too easy then. I am bored of the world, little star, and I had hoped you would present a challenge when I first heard about you. Now, though... I must confess myself disappointed. (AN:If anyone gets that reference, they get a cauldron cake.) You are nothing." He turned to the creatures behind him. "Let us leave these weaklings to nurse their wounds and hope that they present a more respectable challenge when we next meet." He loped to the head of the force and barked a command to retreat. As they topped a hill, the leader let loose a loud howl of victory. His troop laughed and howled with him.

WotS finally unfroze. Before she had a chance to do anything other than shift her paws a bit, a tall, thin figure stepped out from behind a tree and spoke quietly.

"I can help you with that." He was looking at Cry's leg, which was bleeding copiously, and looked already slightly infected.

WotS knew immediately who he was. Tall, thin, and wearing a polka-dotted suit, he had large, dark eyes and a rather dopey, pale face. Splendorman?

He looked around and saw WotS. "My brother does that! The mind-talking thing. He doesn't talk much to me, though."

Why?

"We don't exactly agree with one another on certain things." He indicated the hill that the creatures had left over. "He agrees with the king. I don't."

They work for the king?

"Yes, nasty hellhounds they are."

Hellhounds?

"Yes. They're evil to the core."

Not all of them.

"Hmm." He turned to the others. "I can't force you all to trust me. But I will say this. If you do, I can assure you that I can save your friend there, and patch the rest of you up as well." He turned and started walking towards a sheer rock wall some way away.

WotS looked at the others. Tobuscus and Sohinki were both frowning, and Smash didn't look too happy either. The rest, however, looked open to the idea. She turned back and followed the tall figure. She heard a groan she identified as Tobuscus's, but didn't stop walking.