Chapter 35: The Storm
Aeris slowly gained consciousness.
The first thing her mind took in were voices she couldn't make out and a constant heavy thud that was followed by a rasped groan. Then, as her senses fully returned to her, the feline realized the stiffness in her body. It took only a few moments for her to feel the ropes that bound her, tying her to the chair she was sat on with her hands behind the back.
Her eyes slowly opened, taking in her surroundings. The room she was in was large, crates and cardboard boxes were strewn about. Cold concrete made up the floor and walls, the ceiling was wooden with several beams keeping it in tact. Aeris could only assume they were in a cellar of some kind.
Now, the noises she had heard previously were much clearer. In fact, she realized they were right next to her.
Only keeping her eyes opened to slits, Aeris looked out to see the sight of two men standing over another chair. They hadn't noticed the cat's awakening, being focused on who was tied down in front of them, Alex.
The hybrid was bound just as Aeris was. His gaze was one of defiance, not showing an iota of fear against his captors. His stance didn't falter, even as the two men attacked him.
They took turns, each plowing their fists into Alex's chest, forcing more grunts of pain from him with each blow. Occasionally, they made a strike of anger across his face, an attempt to keep him quite as the hybrid continuously goaded them with comparisons of their blows to that of little girls and insults toward their mothers. The damage was showing however, two easy to spot cuts in his lip were already turning parts of his white muzzle red.
"Ugh, can't we just sew his mouth shut?" one of the men growled, his breathing becoming heavy from their prolonged exercise.
"You were given your orders," a voice from within the room called, "you are to just keep the freak roughed up until the boss comes. I suggest you follow them." Both men looked toward the source, Aeris slowly shifted her head slightly, seeing a figure standing a small distance away, observing the spectacle.
A large brown-furred bear stood there. The most obvious trait about him was his sheer size alone, the massive creature was easily twice the size of them all, a being of pure muscle. The bear was dressed well, wearing a fine suit, minus the jacket. Aeris noticed two other things on him. On the left side of his face, four scars ran down the entirety of it, parallel to one another, appearing to be from a set of claws. Another mark on him was written on the back of the bear's hand, a tattoo of an icy blue F.
"Fine," the man grunted. Then, his attention was brought back to Alex as he began snickering.
"Yeah that's right Goldilocks," he said, looking at the man with an amused smile, "you do what Papa Bear tells ya now." The man's face twisted into a look of rage as stomped toward the hybrid.
"That's it," he snapped, reaching into his pocket and grabbing a switch blade, the other hand grabbing onto Alex's jaw, "I'll cut his tongue out! The boss can have the rest!"
The man was about to stick the blade into the hybrid's mouth, but he was stopped. A loud bang sounded and the man was thrown onto the floor, a pool of blood circling around him quickly. All eyes in the room turned toward the bear, a large revolver in hand as it was aimed exactly where the man's head used to be.
"Some just never learn to listen," he said, shaking his head disapprovingly before stowing the gun away. The second man was already stepping away, his gaze set on the body.
"Well isn't that a stroke of hypocrisy," Alex muttered, looking down at the corpse. "When I do that, it's such a big deal. But when you do it Vincent, there's no problem." At that, the bear known as Vincent stepped forward, his eyes set in a glare.
"Don't you dare speak as though we are equals, half-breed." Alex smirked at the sudden spike of anger.
"Oh come now, don't be upset. So what if I infiltrated your little club and wiped out nearly every other member, you should feel lucky you got away. Speaking of which, would you like me to touch that scar up for you? Maybe I can do it to the other side too, you know, make your face a little more... symmetrical." The bear let out a low growl, stepping closer to the restrained crossbreed with his hand up, ready to strike him with all of his fury. But he stopped, freezing in place as his head turned toward the door at the end of the room. Alex's gaze was there as well, focusing on its threshold and the wolf that stood within it.
There was no question as to who he was, Elijah Frost, architect to the murders of Alex's family.
The wolf's fur was a dark gray, he was dressed in a clean dark blue suit that was without flaw. He appeared aged, easily looking to be no less then his mid-fifties. A wooden cane was in his hand, the top adorned with a diamond. As he approached them, Aeris could see a noticeable limp in his right leg.
Standing before Alex, the wolf looked down on him, his eyes burning with disdain.
"You know Alexander," he said, his deep growl of a voice brimming with malevolence, "you've brought me great pain."
As if to spit in the serious air Frost's appearance created, Alex chuckled and smiled at the canine.
"Exactly what pain are we talking about?" he asked. "The physical pain where I almost crippled you? Or the emotional pain when you found out how I carved your son up like a Thanksgiving turkey?"
Frost's expression didn't change, only his eyes narrowed on the hybrid. Then, he raised up his cane and struck Alex across the face. Aeris could feel droplets of blood splatter onto her.
"You would do well to keep your mouth shut," Frost warned.
"Sorry," Alex groaned, "but Jake isn't here, and I'm... his understudy." There was a glint in the wolf's eyes then, he grunted in amusement as he continued to stare down at the hybrid.
"And where is your dear accomplice now? Perhaps the hospital bed we left him in after we caught up with him on his way here. Surprises even me that he was able to survive the crash we set him in, at least the ignorant law here couldn't see that it was all set up." Alex's gaze was now one of anger as a low growl rumbled in his throat.
"So youdid that to him. I knew he would never get himself into such a situation!"
"Yes... well, I couldn't let go of the chance to catch him alone. Of course he put up a valiant struggle, but inevitably, the Lord's light shined upon us that day. And now I can finally deal with you, tonight your filth will be purged from this world. Just as I will for all of your unholy kind."
"That's bullshit!" Alex barked. "Don't attempt to justify your actions through the nonexistent God you follow! Revenge is what brought you here!"
"Hmph," the wolf huffed, "perhaps there are other reasons for you being here... but it's all God's work in the end."
"Dammit Frost, nearly two years have passed since I last saw you! You ran from us and we gave up the search, only for you to show up now! I wanted to let go, to forget all of this! Why couldn't you?" A laugh escaped the wolf then, while a smile crossed his muzzle afterward.
"Oh Alexander, you try so hard to think you were forgotten by me. Did you think I would forget what you did to my son, to my men? No no no, I never forgot. And there was no possibility in me allowing a creature such as you to continue corrupting our world." His gaze moved toward Aeris, her heart skipped, thinking he would see through her ruse. "But even I can't say I expected for you to try and corrupt another..." He approached the 'unconscious' cat, it was all Aeris could do to keep her facade going, keeping her body as lifeless as possible. Frost then raised his cane and used it to lift her head up to face him, Aeris could feel warm blood still clinging to its tip. "Such a pretty face... shame she had to drift from her kind."
"Stay away from her!" Alex barked, straining against his binds. But the action bore little fruit, barely jostling the chair he was tied to.
"But Alex," Frost said, a malicious smirk on his face, "you know I can't allow such an immoral infatuation to exist in this world... Perhaps if she were a vixen or tigress... then maybe..."
"What?" Alex's eyes widened as he caught on to what the wolf was implying. "No!" he shouted defiantly, his tone slowly shifting to one of panic. "I have nothing to do with her! She's seeing the gray one, they've been with each other for years. They even live together dammit!"
Frost turned back to the shouting hybrid, his smirk still showing as his eyes shined with a knowing look.
"Why must you lie to me Alexander?" The crossbreed only looked at the canine in confusion. But Frost merely reached into his suit and withdrew a piece of paper.
As it was held in front of Alex, Aeris could see his demeanor shift drastically. The hybrid's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open in a horror fueled shock. As the blood drained from his face, it even looked as though the red in his fur was discoloring, paling at what he was seeing. Then Frost let it slip from his grasp, having no more use for it. The paper slowly fell and landed between the two friends.
Aeris adjusted her head slightly to peer down at the paper, but upon seeing it, her heart stopped beating.
It was a photo, one of two figures standing together. It was of them, Aeris herself and Alex, those sweet moments after they were attacked by that gang of dogs. Their arms were wrapped around one another while their lips met in an impulsive kiss. Aeris could now feel the panic that Alex was feeling, as she too knew what a picture like that meant to these people.
"You..." Alex began, still struggling with what he was shown. "You were spying on me?"
"For some time," the wolf answered in an uncaring tone.
A loud scream of anger erupted from the furious crossbreed, spilling out his building fury as his control of the situation was gone.
"You son of a bitch Frost! You knew where I was for so long, then why wait? Why risk me disappearing or finding you out? Why not just kill me outright?"
But Frost didn't get the chance to answer, he was stopped as a noise filled the cellar. It was a strange noise, a drowsy groan that would come from a half-conscious state. But Alex's ears twitched as he recognized what the source of it was, even Aeris knew right away who would make such a noise.
"L-Leo?" Alex gasped, trying to force his gaze around the room, limited due to his position. "Leo! Ahh! Why is he here!" he then shouted, his fiery gaze set on the canine. "Let them go, now Frost! They have nothing to do with this! I'm the one you want, I'm the one who caused all of this!"
"Nothing to do with this?" the wolf parroted. "Why Alexander, you seem unable to see the fact that you got them involved. Did you forget how everyone who gets close to you dies? Even that miserable wretch Jake will meet his end soon enough, after we've dealt with you of course..." Frost leaned toward Alex, the amusement in his face gone, now replaced with one of a cold hatred.
"You've caused me so much pain. But I've been patient, I knew I would one day find you and bring as much pain to you as you have brought me. However, even I knew how little of a point killing you would be, how you've become this husk that's before me now. You're nothing, barely even a living thing, shambling about the pathetic experience you call a life with barely any real emotion left. Killing you, it would be no better then shooting a corpse. I had to wait, to wait for you to slip up and allow someone to be brought into your life, someone I could use to cause you the pain I felt when I saw my son fall by your hands. Now... you're going to watch as these two cats are dealt with." Frost moved even closer, his muzzle just inches away from his ears as he whispered devilishly. "We are going to kill them, but not quickly oh no, it will be slow. So very slow. And you will see every drop of blood, you will hear every agonizing scream, and you will know that you are the cause of it. Then... it will be your turn."
Alex hung his head low in dismay, now seeing what he had brought upon those who called him a friend. But he couldn't give in, he wasn't going to let Frost win.
"You've only damned yourself Frost," Alex growled, glaring up at the wolf. "You'll die today just like all the others I've put down, just like a rabid animal."
Just as the words left his mouth, Alex gasped in pain as a knife flew through the air and ran across his arm, cutting into its side. The knife landed on the floor behind him with a clatter. All eyes looked toward the source, looking into the furthest corner of the room.
"You bite your tongue," a voice called. Alex's ears twitched noticeably as he recognized the voice. Even Aeris' mind was struck with the realization that she too remembered it.
Just as they were placing who it belonged to, the mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows and approached them. To Aeris' shock, she saw the white face of Joey, the street performer she had become acquainted with. The pink cat could see him still wearing the hooded sweatshirt he always had on, its hood still over his face. But as he stood before Alex, a devious grin crossed his face as he removed it.
Just like the rest of his body, Joey's head was a pristine white. But Aeris found one detail that marred an otherwise flawless coat, his ears, one was tipped in black while the other had two stripes running around its center.
"What?" Joey said with a chuckle as Alex's own face showed surprise to the encounter. "Still shocked to see your dear cousin after so long?" Aeris became breathless, now realizing her suspicions about the white fox.
"What are you doing here?" the hybrid snarled indignantly. "And why would you join up with these zealots? You've never been one to get help." Another chuckle fell from the fox's lips as he smiled fondly.
"Ah well, I was just getting so lonesome when you disappeared. I did search for you myself though, not finding a single scrap to the whereabouts of you or your hormonally driven friend. It seemed like joining up with Frosty here would be the most perfect way to track down my dear family member. After all," Joey's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed onto Alex's neck, the other held up a knife and pressed the tip against the bottom of his jaw, "I still haven't forgiven you for butchering my father." He then let go, still leaning close to the hybrid.
"I've already told you," Alex spat in defense, "he deserved his fate. The bastard sold his own brother, your uncle my father, out to these people. It was his doing that we were found out in the first place!" Joey merely chuckled, smiling crookedly as he continued to hold the knife dangerously close to his restrained cousin.
"And I've already told you that I couldn't care less about you and you're problems. So what if Daddy's Judasing led to the deaths of a few... unwanted family members, the blood isn't on his hands... literally speaking anyway. Now, what does bother me is when someone feels the need to go after their own kin, now that is something that can really traumatize you... heh-heh-heh."
He paused for a moment, scratching his chin as he examined his cousin.
"Though... this isn't the you I like best... Come on Alex, let's see your true colors." Joey began slapping Alex across the face, earning a growl with each contact. "Lets see some of that anger, I wanna see those yellow peepers turn red! That'swhen you get fun!" The demented fox quickly withdrew his hand as Alex snapped his jaws at him, nearly sinking his fangs into it. "That's it!" He then started laughing. "It's funny really, our little game going on for so long, I honestly thought we would be at it forever. Then you up and leave the field before half-time... how unsporting of you. But look at you now, sitting here in front of me, wrapped up like a Christmas present. I think I might be a bit naughty this year and open you up early..."
The fox aimed his knife toward Alex's chest, a crazed look in his eyes that showed the unparallelled need to allow it to taste flesh and blood. Alex braced for it, readying himself to feel the cold metal cut into him.
"Not now," Frost broke in, seeing the reunion run its course. "Once the sedatives have worn off on his friends, then you will have your time for fun." Joey looked toward Aeris, his gaze focused on her for sometime before he laughed and shrugged at the wolf.
"So be it," he murmured, turning toward the door leading out of the room. As he headed for the exit, the arctic fox began juggling his knives in the air while humming a cheerful tune. "Be seeing you soon Alex, we'll catch up." Then he was gone, leaving Frost to have his last words.
"You best come to terms with your devil now," Frost said, his cold gaze locked onto the crossbreed whose head was down as he stared at the floor in dismay. "You'll be seeing him again soon enough." With that, he walked out of the room, being followed by his two men.
Now alone, several minutes passed before Alex's head shifted upward. His gaze moved about for a moment before it finally landed on Aeris.
"You can stop pretending now," he said, startling the pink cat. "You didn't do too bad for yourself. Though I was at least able to keep their attention on me, you did well at keeping your cool."
"Alex," Aeris finally breathed, looking at her friend with worry, "are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," he said, his face filled with sadness, "I'm fine... But... oh god, I'm sorry for all of this. I never would have guessed he would find me after all this time."
"It-it's okay, we just need to get out of here. You can do that right?" Before the hybrid could answer, they again heard the groans of a gray cat nearby.
"Uggghh, my head... Wha- Wh-where am I! What's going on!"
"Dammit Leo, shut up, keep your voice down," Alex hissed, still trying to turn his head toward the noise.
"Alex? A-Aeris? Why are we all tied up? What's happening?"
"It's Frost, he's found me and now he wants to kill all of us," he answered bluntly.
"Oh my god!"
"You have to keep quiet Leo," Aeris chimed in, scolding the cat the best she could. "Alex knows what he's doing... Don't you Alex?"
"Y-yeah," he answered uncertainly, his eyes shifting around the room for a means of escape. "Wait a second... that knife, it's behind me isn't it?" Aeris looked and noticed Joey's thrown knife lying on the ground just behind the hybrid.
"It's there."
"Alright then," he said, tightening his muscles and pushing his body forward. "Just need to-" he tilted slightly, "put enough force-" he pushed backward this time, making the chair creak as it tilted a little more, "in the right direction." With another moment of struggling, Alex managed to tilt his chair back and fall onto the floor with a painful thud. Continuously jolting his body around, he wiggled his fingers about in an attempt to grab for the knife that was nearby. All the while, Aeris repeatedly vocalized the whereabouts and how close he was to grabbing it.
"Ah-ha," he said triumphantly as he locked his fingers around it. "Okay... now just have... cut through these ropes..." He brought the knife up and slowly pushed it back and forth with his fingers, sawing into the ropes at a weak pace. "There!" The rope broke. Allowing him to pull his arms free and easily slice through the rest of them.
"So that fox," Aeris said, as the hybrid got out of the chair and knelt near her own, "he's your cousin?"
"Yes," Alex growled as he focused on cutting her ropes. "I had an uncle too, just as bigoted as my grandparents. It was his doing that Frost even knew about my father and his half-breed children. He wanted Frost to kill us all, his way of 'purifying' the family name. He even got a job with Frost afterward, it was how I found out about it when I was undercover. Though he was technically family, it didn't bother me in the slightest to end his miserable existence. Sadly, Joey didn't take it well, he's tried killing Jake and me ever since."
Finally breaking her free, Alex rushed over to Leo and worked on him. It didn't take long for the gray cat to be free as well.
"Okay," Alex said, turning toward the door that Frost had left from, "let's go."
Approaching the door, Alex held up a hand to stop them. Turning to his friends, he pressed a finger to his mouth, signaling them to be silent and as quiet as possible. Slowly, the crept into the room beyond the door.
It was much smaller then the one they were previously trapped in. A key difference were the large wine racks that ran across the walls. Each hole was either covered with dust, spiderwebs, bottles of wine, or all three. In the center stood the man who was previously beating on Alex, his gaze was furiously set on a television before him, its black screen filled with static as he angrily pounded his fist on top of it.
"Fucking thing," he growled, continuing his attack on the defenseless device. "Everyone else gets to stay upstairs, but nooo I have to stay down here and guard the half-breed freak. Hell, even the psychopathic fox gets a nice set-up with the boss." Alex motioned for the two cats to stay put, allowing him to move forward silently, the knife held tightly in his grasp. "Don't even see the big deal with this guy. We took him down easy as shit before. Those stories about him are all bullshit, Vincent's probably just being a bitch. Should keep quite though, don't wanna end up like Mick, but dammit! Why do I need to guard the fucker? He's tied up, what's he even going to do? It's not like he ca-" The guard couldn't finish, being cut off as Alex crept behind him and plunged the knife into his back.
"Oh, you'd be surprised at what I can do," he whispered. Twisting the knife and dragging it upward a little. The man tried to scream, but he was prevented as Alex's free hand was held over his mouth. All he could do was feel the life draining out of him, the shuddering pain coursing through his body.
Blood began seeping through Alex's fingers as the thick red liquid poured from his target's mouth. It didn't take long for his thrashing to stop and the gurgling sound of his lungs choking on blood ceased. Without a break in step, Alex released his hold and the body collapsed into a heap at his feet.
As Aeris and Leo moved toward their friend, Alex was already knelt before the body, searching through his pockets. After wiping his blood covered hand off on the man's clothing, the hybrid found the right place and pulled out the pistol he kept. Checking the gun, Alex searching through the pockets more and pulled out a metal object shaped like a cylinder.
"Silencer," Alex said as he attached it to the pistol, sensing the gazes of his friends, "it'll turn this thing into a whisper." Finishing, the hybrid motioned for them to continue, finding a stairway leading out of the cellar nearby.
Moving up, they opened the door hanging above them to find themselves entering a large kitchen.. Black and white linoleum tiles spanned out across the floor, large appliances ran around the walls and a musty scent of old food hung in the air. More dust and cobwebs littered the room, though there were some areas that looked as though they had been cleaned recently.
They remained silent, each step producing no sound as they quietly moved through the kitchen. The room beyond was even larger, a dinning room that held a regal quality to the pricy carpeting and extended table that dominated the center of the floor.
"Wait a second..." Aeris muttered, eying the familiar setting. It was as if she was looking at a place she had been before, back when it was much dirtier and forlorn. "This... this is the Edelstein manor... Leo, don't you see it?" The gray cat looked about the room himself, his eyes widening as he began to recognize it as Aeris had.
"Yeah... I hardly recognize it now." An angry huff escaped Alex as he too examined the old room.
"Seems like Frost really was at this for a while. So stupid, I should have known he was here."
"Alex," Aeris responded, "it's not your fault, you couldn't have realized this."
"Hmph well, it's no bother now. Frost wanted me here, well I'll be sure he isn't disappointed and sees me again. Come one, let's keep moving." As they headed for the next exit, Aeris and Leo looked at each other with concern, wondering if their hybrid friend was planning on escaping or just throwing himself into danger.
Holding onto the pistol with a tight grip, Alex pressed on the door lightly to nudge it open slowly. The next room seemed to have no true purpose, simple furniture scattered about with no rhyme or reason to it. But a cautious pause was taken by the three as two men stood nearby, unaware of their silent watchers.
Aeris and Alex were both able to recognize them as apart of the group that had attacked them. It made it all the easier for Alex to throw the door open, pistol in hand and poised to fire, and gun down the two lackeys of Frost.
The silencer on the pistol turned each shot into a miniscule noise of their former selves as they embedded into their targets. Both men were taken by surprise, unable to even reach for their own weapons as they were thrown to the ground, blood splattering against the nearby wall and floor.
Just like with his first victim, Alex knelt down over their bodies and searched their pockets. Nothing of interest could be found so he moved for their guns, removing each pistol and examining them thoroughly.
Tossing one aside like trash, Alex stared at the second, thinking deeply as he came to a decision.
"Here," he said, turning to Aeris and handing it to her.
The pink feline only stared at it, not accepting such a deadly weapon. She couldn't see herself ever wanting to use such a thing, let alone taking someone's life.
"Only if you need it," Alex said, seeing the hesitation in her eyes. With a solemn nod, Aeris took the gun from his hand, the weight of it feeling heavy in her grasp. After a prolonged pause, she put it away in her pants, hoping she wouldn't have to use it.
"Do I get one?" Leo asked, seeing himself without a means of defense.
"We're trying to avoid getting shot Leo," the hybrid replied. Leo frowned but said nothing else, merely grumbling to himself before they exited the room.
The next room seemed just as pointless as the last, truly showing the overindulgence that privileged life brought. But the room did offer them a look outside, and to realize what was going on. A storm ravaged the land outside.
Rain pelted against the window, soaking them in their onslaught. But it was small, barely more then a sprinkle and unable to call itself a shower. However, it wasn't the rain that made the storm fierce.
One after the other, loud explosions of sound carved through the air, proceeded by bright flashes of light. The lightning itself constantly shot off, lighting up the dark sky with a momentary sun. The noise that followed drowned out nearly everything else. It was hard to believe they hadn't noticed it before. Aeris could already feel the tremors of fear coursing through her body as each booming sound vibrated into her depths.
For some reason, the tempest outside made their situation feel all the more grave.
"The storm will at least help hide our noise," Alex said, turning from the window and heading for the next door. "We need to keep moving though."
Peering through the cracked opening of the door, Alex scanned the next room, once again finding no one else inside.
"Why aren't more men down here," the hybrid muttered in a low growl. The lack of any resistance was making him uneasy, especially knowing that somewhere in the mansion lurked his crazed cousin.
They entered the room, set up with furniture a typical living room might have, though with a much regal quality in brand.
The three friends were already nearing the next door when Alex suddenly stopped in his tracks. A twitch in his ears picked up the sudden creak of a a floorboard, crying out from a large weight being pushed on top of it.
Just as they were turning around to the source, a massive arm swung out. The swing struck them all, sending them across the room.
"I knew you would find a way out," a deep voice rumbled angrily.
It took a few moments for the disorientation to wear off of the two felines. When it was gone, they could both see Vincent standing over Alex, cracking his knuckles in a chagrined expression.
"It's not as though this is the first time," Alex groaned, picking himself up. It soon occurred to him that he no longer had his pistol, losing it when he was airborne.
"Well," the bear growled, "we have our own business to take care of. Frost may want you alive, but I'm sure he'll at least be happy to know you won't be a thorn in his side any longer."
Vincent then charged, his tree trunk sized arms held open to grab the hybrid. But Alex's much smaller size made him all the more faster. Quickly retrieving his knife, he ducked and side-stepped the advance and swiped the knife across the bears' side.
A furious growl escaped him as blood already began flowing from the wound. But it didn't slow him down in the slightest as a powerful left swing struck Alex in the side and pushed him down onto the floor.
Seeing their friend in trouble, Aeris and Leo rushed the bear. Noticing their assault, Vincent turned around to face them as well, a smile of confidence on his face as he saw little threat in the cats.
He quickly regretted such thoughts as Aeris pounced, jumping up at him and slicing her claws across his face. The large bear yelled in pain as the familiar feeling of such a wound opened a silo of pent-up rage for one certain crossbreed.
Now in a blind fury, Vincent easily swatted Aeris away like an insect with his meaty arm. She flew far and crashed into the wall with a thud, disorienting her for some time. The gray cat was now in his sights as Leo ran up to him from behind, heading for between his legs to aim for the best spot he could think of. He didn't make it however as Vincent's baseball glove of a hand grabbed a hold of him.
The air was cut off from him as Leo's neck was in the grasp of the hulking bear. Another sadistic smile made its way to his face as he watched the cat struggle, his feet flailing uselessly about, his eyes beginning to bulge out from his skull. And the sounds of his last choked breaths were music to his ears.
Too focused on the dieing feline in his hands, Vincent didn't notice as Alex regained his footing and rushed forward. It only registered to him as he felt the sharp pain of a knife being stabbed into his chest. With a grunt of pain, his hold on Leo was lost, causing the gray cat to collapse onto the floor in a coughing fit.
But Alex was quickly caught off guard as Vincent retaliated with a mighty blow to the hybrid's side. Alex gasped in pain, the horrible feeling of his ribs being crushed overwhelming him. Then with one upward swing, the bear sent the crossbreed flying several feet across the room.
Vincent stood idle for several moments, breathing heavily as he calmed his nerves.
"To think how much trouble you've caused us in the past," he said with a chuckle as he wiped the blood from his cut face. "Though..." his eyes fell on the knife still lodged in his chest, "you certainly are resourceful." Plucking the knife free of its fleshy sheath, he carelessly tossed it away, the wound feeling no greater then what a toothpick might do to him. His gaze then shifted toward Aeris, still disoriented from her crash into the wall. "Let's take care of your little squeeze first."
As Aeris regained her composure, she was struck with fear as Vincent approached her, murder in his eyes. She tried moving, but she was too weak to move quickly enough. Her heart pounded against her chest as she watched Vincent pull out his revolver, its sights set directly on her. Closing her eyes tight, she prepared for the gunshot that would end it all, sending her into endless darkness.
But it never came, instead all she heard was a sudden gasp of pain. She looked to see Vincent's eyes moving down to his side. There was a large blot of red on his white shirt, expanding by the second. The stunned bear then turned, looking behind him and at what Aeris was already focused on.
Alex was still on the ground, holding himself up with one arm, while the other held a grip on his pistol. The hybrid's sights were trained on Vincent.
The bear raised his own hand, his seething gaze erupting in an inferno. But before he could even aim his revolver at the downed hybrid, Alex fired first.
Every shot hit its target, cutting into Vincent's burly chest with ease. Alex kept firing until the clicking of a spent clip was all he could hear with each pull of the trigger.
Vincent stood still for a moment, his body shaking from he strain to keep him on his feet. But as the blood seeped from the many holes in his torso, the bear's eyes rolled upward and he collapsed, a heavy thud vibrated across the room as he impacted.
"Are... are you guys okay?" Alex asked breathlessly as he used a nearby table to pull himself up.
Leo was able to catch his breath and stand, rubbing his neck as a shiver of death coursed through his body.
"Well I'm fine, I guess," the gray cat muttered. He looked to Alex and noticed him rubbing his side tenderly, wincing in pain at the contact. "What's wrong with you?"
"Ribs I guess," the hybrid replied, still feeling each bone to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be. "Nothing broken, still hurts to breathe though. I'll just have to not do that as much." Moving his gaze to Vincent's body, he approached it and grabbed the revolver still in his hand.
Holding it, Alex's eyes stared fixedly at the weapon. After a few minutes of thought, he stowed the pistol away behind him and approached Aeris.
"How about you?" he asked her, lending her a hand to help her up.
"I... I'm fine," she said, still shaken by the near death experience. Alex nodded, happy that both felines were okay. But his mood quickly shifted as he caught Aeris' own shifted into a look of horror. Her face quivered as her eyes were focused on something behind him.
As Alex turned, his sight barely registered to the enormity of Vincent's frame, even as a hand shot forward and wrapped around his neck.
A loud crash followed as the hybrid felt his feet leave the ground and he was slammed against the nearby wall. Vincent's eyes were void of any sanity or control, a wild animal now. Alex could still see blood pouring out of the bullet wounds he had left, even as the bear's iron grip tightened even further.
"Wha-what does it take to kill you!" Alex sputtered out with the last of his air. Even his hearing was beginning to fail him, only hearing a muffled yell from Leo as he charged forward to help his friend, quickly being smacked away by Vincent's free arm.
As his breathing was forcibly cut off, the hybrid could still feel the pressure on his neck going further. He knew his neck would soon snap like a twig.
But then, the pressure stopped, the grip on his hand going limp. Vincent's eyes lost focus, going blank before they finally closed. The bear's body swayed in place for a moment, but it soon came crashing forward. Alex barely had a moment to roll out of the way after being dropped onto the ground, just narrowly avoiding being crushed.
As Alex sat there, staring wide eyed at the corpse now in front of him, he noticed the bleeding hole in the back of his head. Slowly, Alex looked up to see Aeris standing there, a gun in her shaking hands and aimed in their direction.
There was a long pause, it was silent, even with the raging storm outside. The crossbreed could only stare at his friend as Aeris began trembling, her quivering, tear filled eyes unable to move away from the bear she had just killed. Even Leo remained still, stopping half-way to picking himself up to baffle at what he had just seen.
Soon though, Aeris' stance broke. The gun fell from her limp hold on it and thudded on the ground, she soon followed.
Aeris' shuddering form sat on the ground, her eyes closed tight as she could no longer take to looking at the body in front of her. Sure she was tough, sure she always thought could handle anything. But this, to break such a natural law, to take a life, there was nothing that could prepare her for the emotional strain it would bring.
"Aeris," Alex shouted, running to her side, ignoring his own pains. Falling to his knees next to her, he grabbed her by the shoulders and lightly jostled her, attempting to get through the disturbed feline. "I know it's difficult to realize you've just taken a life, I know how it feels to play executioner. But please Aeris, remember why you did it. He was going to kill all of us, you me Leo, he would have ended us all and enjoy doing it." Aeris eyes opened as she felt the hybrids arms wrap around her, embracing her in a comforting hug. "You saved our lives Aeris... thank you."
"A-Alex..." she stammered, still feeling her inner being trembling.
"Aeris," Alex said, breaking his hold on her to look into her eyes, "I promise you that you won't have to do this ever again."
"Okay," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment to catch her breath. He patiently waited, continuing to hold her for as long as she needed.
After several moments passed, Aeris looked back into the hybrid's eyes and nodded her readiness to him.
"We need to get going now," the hybrid stated, picking up Aeris' pistol for himself.
A firm nod was gained from both feline's as they moved for the next door.
A/N: Okie-Dokie-Lokie everypo- (ahem) everybody... the latest chapter is up!
Once again, this is really a chapter I've ended up splitting in half for a number of reasons. So really, expect the next one to be soon, but not TOO soon... and stuff.
And let's see what we have here... (re-reads chapter) okay... gotcha... okay.
Yeah... doozy of a chapter. We've seen a few new characters, most of which are already dead... And we've seen a new twist on an old... 'character' I suppose you can say.
And man, I've gotta say, I LOVE Joey. Don't you? I do, love the cuddly little psychopath. And we are sure to see more of him, very soon.
And Aeris ended up killing someone... how 'bout that.
Anyway, expect more to be on its way soon enough.