Disclaimer: I will never own Wolf's Rain or any of its characters! (So sad…)

Author's Note: Since I didn't want to watch this particular episode (Episode 28: Gunshot of Remorse) again, I must say that the dialogue will most definitely not be exactly the same. I think that you readers will definitely enjoy this chapter whether I say that or not. Hee hee…

Second Author's Note: The place this chapter starts may seem a little odd, but I think it's okay considering the fact that I couldn't remember most of the dialogue without watching Episode 28 again. The reason I started it here is to limit the length of this chapter (and to keep from watching the whole sad episode again). Anyways… ENJOY!

CHAPTER 12

Even though he may have missed a perfect chance at killing the red wolf, Darcia didn't seem to care about this. He knew that his wolf would return eventually. Besides, what he said to it earlier was true: that he needed the red wolf to complete his transformation into his own true form. He knew what this entailed… Getting the blood of that particular wolf…

Darcia smiled in the evil way only a true villain could. There was only one way that this goal could be accomplished. And once Darcia set his mind to something, nothing could stand in his way from getting it.

He exited his ship into the harsh wind of the sandstorm created from his firing of the laser so close to the ground. With the smile still plastered on his face, Darcia walked toward some unknown destiny. But he knew that this direction would take him to his little red wolf. It had to… It just had to…

Some time later, and still walking in the swirling wind, Darica could no longer see his ship behind him. Not that he ever looked behind him. After a few more steps he would be there. He counted: One…Two…Three…Four… Darcia stopped. He let the last few gusts of wind blow his hair and cloak violently. Through the dust and sand, Darcia could see two shadows in front of him if he squinted his eyes enough.

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I don't recall how long I had been running through the sandstorm. But eventually I got tired and had to stop running. Because I was walking into the wind, I bowed my head forward and squeezed my eyes shut.

I lifted my head to check ahead of me. I could just barely see three forms ahead. One was tall, one was medium-sized and the third shorter than the other two.

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The sandstorm's wind suddenly stopped and the swirling dust whipped from their vision to reveal the figure of Darcia a few yards in front of Toboe and Quent. Yaiden's eyes widened in anger and he hefted his rifle into firing position, aimed at Darcia. At the same time, Darcia drew a pistol from within his cloak and aimed it back at the human in front of him.

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!CRACK!

The sound of the gun going off jarred me from my surprise at seeing Darcia, Toboe and another human in front of me when the sand cleared. It all happened so fast I hardly had time to react anyway. Toboe's body seemed to take forever to fall forward.

'Toboe!'

It was the second crack that brought me back to reality. I saw Darcia pointing his gun at the human. My eyes followed the length of his arm to his wrist where I saw Toboe, the rust-colored wolf, his teeth clamped onto Darcia's arm. If any words were exchanged, I didn't hear them. I continued to watch in shock as Darcia flung Toboe off of his arm, away behind him.

"Toboe!" I called as I ran forward toward him limp body on the ground, "Toboe!" I continued to call his name as I ran.

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Toboe didn't distinctly remember being shot. He only remembered protecting Blue's human friend. He remembered that and hating Darcia for trying to kill the human. Toboe also remembered being tossed aside by Darcia after chomping down on his arm. Of course it did hurt.

He also heard a voice calling out to him by name: "Toboe!" It was kind of faint, but he could hear it. It was getting closer too. "Toboe!" Soon it was right next to him, "Toboe!" Toboe opened his eyes to a face he thought he would never see again. Her: the red wolf without a name.

"Hi…"

"Don't try to talk! You're hurt." She said in a frantic voice.

"Didn't think I'd see you again…"

"Shut up! That's not the kind of thing I'd like to hear you say right now."

"I'm okay… Really…" Toboe then tried to stand up. It was quite painful. A burning and shocking pain shot up his spine when he tried to stand.

"You shouldn't stand up!" The nameless girl whined.

Faint and far away her voice and a few gunshots sounded. 'That's weird…' Toboe thought, 'Should everything sound so far away?'

He started to get up again, attempting to ignore the way the pain shot up and down his spine and through his shoulders.

"Please. Don't try to get up, Toboe… You're bleeding…" When she said this, she said it almost at a whisper. And when he heard her say it, Toboe began to notice the blood seeping out and down his back.

"I have to… protect… him… I promised… Blue…"

"Please, Toboe… Don't worry about that now! You need help! Please, listen to me! Please, Toboe!" she sounded heartbroken now.

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I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Toboe was struggling to get up on his feet even though he was badly wounded. I tried to stop him. I really and truly tried. He wouldn't listen. He just kept repeating: "I have to protect him. I promised Blue." He said it over and over. He could hardly move his hind legs, so Toboe began crawling toward the human man on the ground some distance away.

"Please, Toboe… Don't worry about that now! You need help! Please, listen to me! Please, Toboe!" I shouted at him from where I was kneeling when I ran to his side.

I started to cry. I couldn't help it. I just started crying. I felt so helpless. I hadn't done or accomplished anything. All I had done was stand and watch while…

This thought brought me back to… one person… Darcia…

Darcia: that evil being who brought me here for some unknown yet completely selfish reason. Even thinking his name made me so angry. He made me so angry I just couldn't describe. I have never felt such hate before in my entire lifetime. This man, this Darcia, was the one who hurt my friend. 'Toboe…'

This indescribable hatred could no longer be contained. It had to be fed. So I ran after the cause of my hatred… Darcia…

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Author's note: Augh! I can't stop myself! Writing this chapter made me cry! I hate to cry. It always makes me feel so… inadequate… The episode made me cry, too… This really sucks… Now I feel really bad…

Anyways… that's the depressing Chapter 12. Next comes the final chapter, Chapter 13. I'm happy that I can finally knock down one more story off my to-do list. But I'm also quite sad that I'm finished with it because I was hoping it would end a lot happier than this. Most of my stories do tend to have happy endings. (sigh) This one is different, I suppose… But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though it was quite depressing.

As always… Thanks for reading. Reviews and flames are welcome.

--Howls (a much more lonely and sad note than usual happy note)— a sad riawolf