Chapter 25: The Shroud of Nightmares

"Ok Mew, lets double-check what's going on here," Mew looked at his surroundings with half a smile, "Wolf army? Check. Wolf commando? Check. Ghostly looking girl? Check. Big bad vampire? Check. Full Moon...?"

He creaked his head up towards the sky and kept only one eye open. The big old rocky light bulb was as full and bright as it could be. Then he sank with a sigh and muttered, "Check..."

Mew limply raised a hand up to Joe Dark's shoulder and patted it, "Just this once you can slap me awake from this silly dream, alright?"

His skin was cold and bumpy, and he didn't move in the slightest. His gaze darted forward towards the monstrous man floating in the sky, and it was though the color was steadily being drained from his eyes.

Mew took this to consideration and looked up at the monster. There was something different about him compared to most other villains he had fought. Even though he's A Dracula, no doubt, it was like he had come from some other world entirely. A dreadful place, unfit for mortal eyes, colder than the coldest night...

The monster man looked at everything but Joe Dark with disinterest, and licked the bottom of his fangs with a thick, moist saliva oozing off his tongue.

Joe Dark suddenly tightened his fists and grew so tense that it shook Mew at his knees. He arched his brows and muttered in a submissive, frightful tone, "How...did you find me?!"

The militaristic wolf man lurched his head forth, shining all his fangs in a taunting grin, "Our Lord always finds his meals. Once he tastes your fear, there is no corner of the universe you can escape to, whelp!"

"I shall grant you this though, Dark King..." Dracula murmured, the baritone in his voice cold enough to put out the sun, "We spent a whole month tracking you down. Our path took us to many more worlds ripe for consuming."

Now, even his eyes looked like they were salivating, "So thank you. Even in cowardice, your actions kept me well fed."

Joe Dark gnashed his teeth together and hunched down in shivers. This was far from the norm for him. Seeing this made Mew quickly hunch over and summon his sword behind his back, where he then sent out a heavy pulse of power by widening his eyes.

The hungered crowd of mindless wolves withdrew an inch while the hairs on their leader stood upon on end. Joe Dark cocked his head towards him and hung his jaw.

"So...this guy's pretty bad huh?" Mew said, more than a little peeved.

"I-I always say this but this time I mean it: You're crazy!" Joe Dark barked out, unable to contain the fear riddling his nerves, "This is not someone you can defeat! He's beyond monster or demon!"

"I can't," Mew looked at him with a big smirk, "But we can."

He stamped his foot down and roared, "Yo Prune Face!"

His voice bellowed so loudly that it shook the air, and for a brief moment, the lord of monsters turned his gaze from his prey.

"Think you're so tough, coming to fight us at our front door?!" Mew grinned and chuckled like a madman, "Naw man see? We got you right where we want you!"

Dracula curled a minor smile and softly chuckled, which could still be heard by all here. Mew tightened his grip and arched his brows, inviting the terrifying Lord of Monsters to "Come at us".

It was tantamount to suicide and stupidity of the highest caliber, not the bravery he was touting it as. They were surrounded on all sides and that ghastly man's presence alone left Joe Dark feeling claustrophobic. So why? Why was Mew so confident that they could win?

Joe Dark swung his arm out at Mew and exclaimed, "Damn it all its me they want! Let me-"

Mew glared at him and swung his arm up. Joe Dark grit his teeth, feeling like he had already been struck in the face with a dizzying blow. What he got instead was much, much softer.

Mew gently held his shoulder and looked him in the eyes, "I'm not abandoning my brother."

Joe Dark involuntarily left his mouth agape. "Brother"...He hated that word ever since he arrived here. Mew had been purposefully using it to get under his nerves.

But now? He was giving him a small, certain smile, and his eyes brimmed with confidence. There was no doubt that he was being absolutely sincere about what that word meant to him.

He wanted to protect him – his family.

The shivers had left Joe Dark's body under his notice to be replaced with a heat growing outward from his heart. He fought his teeth's desire to smile, but his eyes betrayed him by shedding a single tear. He quickly swung to the left to hide it and then threw his arm down, summoning his dagger in hand.

"F-Fine!" He stuttered with some of his usual ferocity, "Do what you want! But don't blame me if you die!"

"Ha! Are you kidding me?" Mew let out a grand guffaw and fire rose around his body slightly, "These fanged fools are going to regret messing with the two of us!"

Dracula curled a fist into his cheek and leaned comfortably against the air, "Bold of you to stand and fight. But I taste no satisfaction from your empty words, boy."

His eyes and ears perked while his pupils collapsed into hungry, withered slits, "I want to hear your screams."

"ATTACK!" Grimmley howled, "RIP AND TEAR OUR MASTER'S MEAL FROM THEIR LUNGS!"

The wolves were whipped into a frenzy and the foremost ones leaped savagely towards their prey. Mew licked the rim of the lips and was the first to charge forth. He swung his sword overhead and smashed the first descending wolf into a bloody, furry paste on the ground.

Two wolves landed and lunged at his arms. Mew backhanded one into the mountainside and twisted his sword so the other one rammed his skull into the blunt edge.

He quickly noticed the wolves ravaging through his garden and pouted his lower lip, "Damn it! I worked hard on that!"

He threw the suspended wolf towards his fellow pack mates and kicked up a small gale to knock them all skyward. He then shredded the right mountainside apart for shrapnel to mow them down.

But there were dozens after dozens to take their place, a bloodthirsty, relentless mob whose numbers filled the rocky hills with their fur.

He hopped back as a wolf went for his leg, then punted him into orbit via the jaw. He was surrounded on all sides with his balance a little messy. He stamped his foot down into a wolf's skull while two other wolves jumped his arms. One chomp on each shoulder, their claws digging into front and back. No matter how hard Mew tried to shake 'em they were not letting go.

"You're tougher than I expected...!" He grit his teeth and flexed his arms taut, throwing the wolves off at last, "But that ain't enough to slow me down."

The scent of his blood ripened the air and threw the wolves into a greater frenzy. Their mangled howls, livening the night atmosphere.

Mew laid a hand over his left shoulder and cauterized the wound while sallying forth into the pack, grinding the tip of his blade along the ground to set it on fire.

He swung it up and incinerated a few more with a pillared blaze. Tragically, this would mean the end of his poor garden...again.

"Tsk...!" Mew whipped his sword behind his back and hunched down, eyeing the wolves that boldly leaped through the cinders, "You're all going down!"

He zipped forward as a bolt of lightning and shoulder tackled the first wolf in the gut. Then he spun around and sliced them horizontally before zipping to the next wolf before the blood spewed and repeating the process over a few more times.

He then tucked his legs into his gut and slammed a wolf into the ground as they flew underneath. He then looked over his shoulder and saw Joe Dark faring pretty well. His dagger made for a quick and effective way of cutting the wolves' in the neck.

But the numbers were more focused on him and he was starting to get overwhelmed. Clearly he was also distracted by something, since a wolf was about to leap out and bite down on his head.

"YO!" Mew pulled back and spin kicked a wolf in the head to send it his way.

Joe Dark's razor sharp hearing caught Mew's voice through the howls and he turned to stab the hurtled wolf in the chest, pacifying it. Then the charging wolf bit down on his compatriot's back, the last pleasure of flesh it'd receive before Joe Dark elongated the dagger with darkness to impale it as well.

All the adrenaline rushing through his brain didn't stop him from getting an idea. He charged forward with the wolves acting as a shield and continued to length the dagger to impale any that jumped at him.

When it got to be a little cumbersome to manage he raised it over his head and sent a pulse of energy through to make them burst. The blood splattered everywhere, from the mountains, to the house, but to more importantly, the other wolves.

The wolves began turning their savage fury on their stained kin and tore them limb from limb. A flurry of fangs, claws and fur tore through the area with Joe Dark standing in the eye of the storm to catch his breath.

"Stupid, mindless beasts..." He tried to catch a glimpse at the one ruling over them all but found he was smiling at the carnage without any concern.

Yet for the briefest of moments, Dracula turned his eye on Joe Dark and a single smile was all it took to shake him at the knees. Joe Dark grit his teeth and the sound of his intense heart beat rang louder than all other noises .

"Hey!" He swore he heard close by.

"HEY!" What made the sound real was a quick jab to the back of his head from Mew's elbow. Joe Dark's body stayed cold for a fleeting moment as he reaffirmed where he was.

Mew now stood at his back and the wolves, having finished feasting on their own, turned their famished appetites upon them once again. They were desperately clawing over one another, becoming a circular enclosure with no clear victor among them.

Don't space out on me Joe! Mew remarked with little care to what surrounded him.

"Mind your own damn business!" Joe Dark barked back, reaffirming his grip and scowling at the wolves, "We need to clear these furry bastards out, fast!"

"There sure is a lot of 'em!" Mew's eyes darted around and he gave a slightly worried chuckle, "I REALLY hope they aren't clawing up the house right now..."

"Forget the house!" Joe Dark remarked, "If any of these monsters are allowed to get loose they'll turn our green planet red!"

Mew stiffened up with interest and even his tone got serious, "Sounds like you're talking from experience."

Joe Dark grit his teeth and shivered. Mew then gave a quick nod and clutched his sword tight, "We won't let them escape. Lets work on creating an opening, so I can go after the big man in charge."

"Sound good?" Mew smiled over his shoulder.

"He's always so damn sure he'll win..." Joe Dark swallowed quietly, but it went down hard. His eyelids sank, and he recalled what Shina had told him about Whiter with a frown, "Is this...the kind of power you can only get when you want to protect something dear to you?"

If so, then it was a power that he'd have to hedge his bets on.

"Yeah." He replied with a soft nod, firming his brows towards the wolves, whose in-fighting was beginning to stabilize into a concrete tidal wave of crimson claws and teeth.

"Here they come!" Mew began to raise his sword overhead.

"Tsk...!" Joe Dark gave his dagger a slight twirl.

The wolves collapsed upon them in droves and Mew immediately broke a way forward by smashing his sword very, very hard against the ground. He dashed ahead and Joe Dark hopped back, throwing the dagger down where he once stood.

He then thrust two fingers at it and a darkness fueled bolt struck down, burning the closest wolves alive and paralyzing the rest.

He then whipped the dagger back into his hand and dashed ahead, gritting his teeth as more and more wolves climbed over their weaker brethren.

He slashed them apart without closing his eyes. Just the opposite in fact, his eyes continue to widen as the adrenaline whipped him into a frenzy. The taste of blood on his skin burned hot but he carved his way through regardless.

He had no idea where he was relative to where he had began. He was trapped in the middle of a horde of wolves that piled on him so desperately that they were suspended off the ground.

He resorted to stabbing them in the chest and throwing them against each other, but the wolves were starting to get a taste for his blood. The tips of their claws dug into his flesh but the pain was no worse than a gnat bite.

He had been eviscerated, burned to the bone, and his blood spilled a thousand humans' worth. If these feral beasts thought they could show him pain and fear, they did not understand the meaning of the word.

Joe Dark grit his teeth and smashed his fist through one of the wolves' skulls, ripping out their skeleton and whipping it against the gnashing crowd. When the way was open he charged forth and turned back towards the beasts.

Heavy darkness exploded from his body and reduced the bones in his hand to ash. He gathered the darkness into his palm and blasted more than a hundred wolves to oblivion.

Mew looked away from his brawl when the air quaked and breathed a sigh of relief that Joe Dark had restrained himself enough to not damage the house in the process.

He then quickly turned back and threw his sword up, catching dozens of wolves chomping at the blunt edge to drag it down. And they were surprisingly weighty.

What do they feed these guys?! Mew chose to let go of his sword and clobber it with a mean right hook. The wolves were smashed against the mountainside and a few cracks spread towards the top.

A lone wolf then jumped on his back, followed by three more helping to drag him towards the ground. But before impact Mew put his fist down and caused a pillar of fire to envelop him and burn the wolves down to the bone.

He then flattened his palm and twirled around with his legs extended. Any wolves foolish enough to come in were swept up in a blender of kicks and sent flying.

Mew then vaulted behind his blade and picked it up. It was a little sticky, ick, but whatever. He swung it out with all his might and cleaved the wolves through the mouths with raw power.

As the swarms continued to flood in Grimmley watched on at the feet of his master, snarling in anger.

"They aren't breaking...! Ghhh...!" He turned around at the wolves standing by and they stopped from the swing of his arm, "Squad B! Disperse throughout the planet and kill every living being you can find! This world is infantile, you will not be stopped!"

Joe Dark grit his teeth and gasped, while Mew arched his brows over widened eyes and exclaimed, "Damn it...!"

The wolves responded to their master's wishes with a rallying howl and turned tail to go make them a reality. And with their speed and numbers, it would be a breeze.

For as strong as the two of them were, they were just that: Two. And with the Lord of Monsters breathing down their necks, they had no freedom to speak of to pursue the hunters.

"You're not going anywhere!" Suddenly, a savior called out in their time of need.

The wolves ran into a rising silver-white barrier whose touched turned their whole bodies cold with ice. It formed a ring around the battlefield, and hundreds of wolves fell before Grimmley roared in disbelief, "Stop! STOP!"

A shadow was cast over his body and grew darker as it fell towards Mew and Joe Dark. A wolf that charged at Mew was smashed flat upon the ground, as their back-up made a graceful entrance.

"Sorry I'm late!" It was Lunis, worked into a slight sweat that glistened under the moonlight, "I came running as soon as I heard the howls!"

Mew cracked an uneasy grin and laughed, "Haha...No no you're just in time. Thanks."

Lunis looked down at the wolf beneath her heel, where it was snarling its teeth. She then looked Mew eagerly in the eyes and asked, "What do I gotta do?!"

"Take 'em all out!" Mew was more than happy to set the lunar goddess loose on their enemy with a snap of his fingers. Not even a moment after she flicked her wrist down and a knife impaled the wolf in the skull.

"Got it!" She got a serious gleam in her eyes and twisted to face the other wolves with a knife in each hand, "I'm going to protect this world in Riku's absence! Here I come!"

Before Mew could finish a blink a silver streak sped through the battlefield and cleanly carved through five wolves. Lunis paused to nail two wolves to the mountainside with flung knives then kicked another wolf's head off with a sweeping leg.

And off she went again, carving up wolves like they were thanksgiving turkeys.

"This was just the break we needed...!" Mew smirked and looked back to find Joe Dark handling his horde just fine.

He glared over his shoulder and exclaimed, "Go! Take that bastard down!"

Right! Mew hunched down and gripped his sword behind his back, motioning for the white trigger, "I'll leave this to you two!"

He spread his wings immediately going into Light Form and set his sights on Dracula. He flew at him with sword halfway drawn before Grimmley intercepted him with his claws.

"NOT SO FAST!" He growled, their clashing forces bringing them to a standstill in mid-air.

Grimmley lurched his head back to flash all his snarling, bloodstained teeth with pride, "You face me, Grimmley Jaegerjaw, the Terror of War!"

Mew mimicked his expression with a smug smile and told him, "And you face me, Mew, the Elemental Overlord!"

"Oh I know who you are!" Grimmley guffawed hastily, his appetite for a fight clearly rabid, "I shall enjoy tearing you to ribbons!"

"Of course you know..." Mew hunched over and huffed out a sigh, "Just this once I'd like a bad guy to say 'Who?' so I can hit them with the element of surprise..."

Gravity finally dragged them to the ground but their clash continues. A dozen knives versus a single katana proved to be a match of equals, even as the wolf held the height advantage.

Mew pressed on and arched his brows, though his tone of voice was more joking than serious, "I don't know who you are but boy, how stupid are you to attack us when you're so clearly outnumbered!"

"Hehehe...!" Grimmley sneered, "There'll be no more interlopers. Not from gods...and certainly not from your little friends in that floating city!"

"...Huh?!" Mew widened his eyes.

Sancturia...

Kairi was heading downstairs in her pajamas to get a glass of milk to help lull her to sleep. She rubbed beneath her right eye and yawned a tiny bit. Fortunately Shina had gone to sleep already. After how exhausting today was she didn't want to spend another second with her right now.

"Mrrrr..." As she neared the front door she saw an unnatural movement outside the windows. It was like a shadow streaking in the night.

"...Huh?" She slowly creaked her eyes open and laid a hand on the back of her head. Maybe her drowsiness was getting to her...

She moved one step forward and another shadow moved in the opposite direction. She quickly pulled back and forced her eyes open to look outside.

The night was astir with pale, winged creatures made entirely of skin. They flapped their wings and shrieked like bats, but their heads were devoid of eyes and their ears were sealed shut.

"THUMP THUMP! THUMP THUMP!" Beat the marching drums of anger inside.

She curled her fists and pounded the side of the window, uttering a "Damn it ALL!" before she rushed out the door and drew her staff. She came out tripping but quickly hopped into the air and intercepted one of the monsters by bashing it on the head.

Right as she hit the ground she panted madly and looked up at the sky. There were hundreds of those things pouring into Sancturia, some of them dropping large wolves and gargoyles down like cargo.

"What NOW?!" Kairi immediately ran forward and took an astounding leap into the monster swarm. She swung her staff in a very broad stroke and smashed six of them together, taking them out of the sky.

Three more then piled on and dragged her to the ground.

"HRRRAAAA!" She hollered, expending some aura to blow them off. They retreated to join their brethren in a frantic grouping right above her.

So far the commotion hadn't drawn anyone out of their houses but that was sure to change, if these monsters didn't drag them out themselves first.

"So, the information was correct..." A delighted, gurgling voice came from a tall, lanky figure straight ahead that wore a brown trenchcoat, and was surrounded by obedient droves of monsters.

The collar of his coat wiggled like his lips were in shivers, "Oh how wonderful...That I will finally get to run tests on some Aurians...!"

Kairi stood up and swung her arm out, having little patience or care for the stranger's creepy tone, 'Who the hell are you? And what do you want?!"

"I do not share my name with my patients..." The man unfurled a pair of black latex gloves with slime-ridden, putrid smelling needles on each fingertip.

Kairi wriggled her nose in disgust, "Fine by me! I'll just beat you all down!"

"Foolish girl..." The man rubbed a set of needles under his chin, "Diagnosis? Incurable stupidity. The cure?"

He waved his hand out and whispered, Death.

A small pack of wolves charged forth and leaped at Kairi, who readied herself to strike. Right as her arm itched with the desire to strike, her surroundings darkened, illuminated by a sharp, silver streak.

When the darkness faded Gabriel was in front of her with his katana a centimeter out of the sheath. When he clicked it down the wolves split vertically and he used aura to keep the blood from spewing on them.

He then stood up and remarked calmly, "Looks like I arrived just in time."

Kairi perked up with a smile, "Boy, am I glad to see you Gabriel!"

"Never a restless moment these days huh?" He said, giving a much needed bit of levity.

The two then turned their attention back on their invaders. The coated man reared his head back and laughed, "Ohohoho! Now this is interesting...A green-skinned Aurian?"

Salivating at the nape he lurched forward and turned his head ninety degrees clockwise, "I'd heard the rumors but never thought I'd see you in the living flesh. You will make for a fascinating test subject...!"

Gabriel remained staunch in his stance and firmly eyed the monster, "By coming here you have chosen death. What are your final words?"

"...Are you serious?" The creature righted itself and struggled to contain his laughter, "A foolish girl and a foolish samurai alone think they can combat the terrors that have haunted a thousand worlds?"

A giant shadow was cast over Sancturia with the moon's aid, as a massive stone castle floated before it. This gave the towering man a somewhat ominous vibe, aided by him remaining completely motionless.

"We are many and you are few. Your defiance shall crumble against the flood of nightmares we shall unleash to ravage your world! And your screams, your many screams, shall be the sustenance and tribute our lord demands in his absence! And there is not a damn thing you can do-!"

"KABOOOOOOM!"

"..." They could feel the man's eyes widen as a gigantic red hot explosion overpowered the light of the moon. For in that moment, the castle, that grand and terrifying dominion of sin, was done for.

He turned around and watched the embers and ash flicker out of existence, and his entire coat dampened with sweat, "Oh flu-ey..."

A ship bolted out of the explosion and dropped four beams of light as it flew over Kairi and Gabriel.

"AH HAHAHAHAHA!" Making her grand entrance was the self-proclaimed greatest heroine herself Saturn! But joining her at her sides was Jupiter and Mars, and a little red-headed girl whom, if Kairi was remembering correctly, was Venus in her new body.

After a stressful start of this dreadful night encounter Kairi could breathe a little easier now. Five out of nine Planetary Aurians had gathered, and that was more than enough to turn the tide on these monsters.

Saturn crossed her arms and her coat swayed in a non-existent breeze. She confidently gleamed at the boundless terrors and gloated at the sheer ease of her overdramatic arrival.

"Leaving your defenses open like that?! I expected no less arrogance from villainous scum like you!"

Jupiter clicked her tongue and wagged her pointer finger outward, "Enjoy the fireworks slimeball?"

The coated man turned around and curled up against his chest, shivering thoroughly in anger, "Gggggggggggggggg! I knew that green-skinned Aurian was familiar! Curses! I didn't think the Planetary Aurians would be in this region!"

"And that was your first and last mistake!" Mars drew out his nunchucks out and showed off his skill by whipping them around his body, "Nobody threatens our friends and gets away with it!"

Venus looked around like she was trying to figure out what was going on, culminating in her air boxing towards the monsters and murmuring, "Yeah!"

Gabriel stood between Venus and Jupiter and flashed a smirk at the coated man, "Care to try again?"

"Gggggggggggg...!" The coated man threw himself upright and lashed his arms out, "Makes no difference to me! In fact this is perfect! Breaking your heroic spirits will put me back in my master's favor after you blew up his castle!"

Mew's house...

"My master and our informant share a common enemy in you. We know what it takes to break you," Grimmley chuckled and grinned confidently, "So yes...quiver in fear, as your hope dwindles, and your courage fa-"

"Pfffft hahaha!" Mew leaned down and burst into laughter.

"...What is the meaning of this?" As the wolf man snarled in confusion Mew broke their clash and hopped back, skidding along the bloodied ground.

"I take back what I said before..." Mew smiled, a little laughter sticking around, "You're not just stupid...You're a Grade-A dumbass!"

"What did you just call me?!" Grimmley howled.

"Sorry bud, but that's the facts!" Mew stood up and clutched his fist before his face, flexing his wings, "Attacking Sancturia? Y'all must have a death wish!"

"You won't be confident for much longer..." Grimmley drew his knives all over his face and his right eye bulged out of his socket with feral intensity, "When I put your body parts in the grave!"

We're not as easily broken as you think we are! Mew set his katana ablaze with light and pointed it at the wolf, "Before this night is over you'll know the true power of the human spirit!"

Next Time: Battle on Two Fronts