After taking a long break of writing, I think it's about time to release a new idea I've been developing over my break, so here is the first chapter of The Power Inside!
Ever since Ryder found out about our powers, he became more lenient with us. He let us explore ourselves thoroughly, finding the powers inside us. Marshall has the elemental ability of fire, Zuma with the elemental ability of water, and Rocky with the elemental ability of electricity. Rubble has a more unique ability: self enhancement. Rubble's power is his super strength. Out of all of us, Skye has the strongest power, paws down. She contains the ability of manipulation, able to control objects and other pups with her mind. Me? I have a power of self enhancement as well, just like Rubble. I have super speed, which comes in handy very often.
There are many other powers out there in the world, some more powerful than others. The most basic is the elemental control powers, such as Marshall's and Rocky's. Next is the self enhancement abilities like mine and Rubble's. Afterwards is manipulation, such as Skye's ability. Finally there is reflective powers. While none of the pups have this power, it's out there. They are able to reflect or absorb other pups' powers and use it against them. These pups are usually really dangerous, but aren't invincible. There is one last ability: the red tier. It is told that these powers are amplified versions of the powers I mentioned. They are usually extremely powerful, and can destroy many at once with a blink of an eye. I would not want to meet one of these pups.
You see, unlike the other pups, I loathe fighting. I can't stand the paw to paw combat, hitting, biting, and bleeding. Especially the bleeding part. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with seeing blood, but there is some part of me that doesn't want to be near it. So usually whenever there is a fight that gets loose, I try to run away with my speed. The only time where I'm fine with watching others fight is in the arena where the other pups have little battles. While the other pups practice their abilities, I always sit on the balcony watching, gazing at the amazing skill and grace the other pups have gathered over time. I am still surprised that Ryder allowed all this, creating a massive arena for us, as well as giving us each a training room. Every room is customized for each pup's talents. Mine is equipped with treadmills that can match my speed, as well as a few dummies and beanbags to practice fighting. Of course, I never use it, and Ryder understands, but the other pups frequently push me to at least use it to keep my skills intact.
Today, Rubble had practiced his techniques against Zuma, who, after a valiant effort, was bested by Rubble's shear strength. Zuma walked out of the rink, scratched minimally, but nothing that time couldn't heal. I had watched the entire fight, observing Rubble's repetitive attacks, wondering how Zuma couldn't predict his moves. I shook my head as Rubble turned towards me.
"Hey, Chase!" Rubble called out from the battleground.
"Huh? What is it?" I responded.
"I really want to battle you!" Rubble shouted.
"Rubble, you know I don't fight" I groaned.
"Awww, come on! I know as well as you that you can fight! I've seen you fight Marshall, and you won too!" Rubble pleaded.
"That was one time, and Marshall threatened to take away my food for a month if I didn't" I huffed, trying to push away the time I beat Marshall without a scratch.
"Are you suggesting that I do the same? Because I will if I have to!" Rubble threatened.
"Alright, but go easy on me" I replied warily.
"Go easy? Hah, after what you did to Marshall, don't count on it!" Rubble yelled. I hadn't fought another pup since a few weeks ago, yet I knew in my gut that Rubble stood no chance at beating me. Don't ask me how I did, I just knew.
"Hold up, Chase is going to fight?" Rocky yelled as he burst through the doors. "I gotta see this."
"How did you? Huh?" I stuttered, baffled.
"Did you really think I left? I was the one who asked Rubble to fight you" Rocky replied with a smirk on his maw.
"Wha- you know what, I don't care. Come on Rubble, let's get this over with." I called to Rubble, who was already on the opposite side of the field. I quickly ran over to my side of the field, and saw that Rocky, along with the other pups, had gathered at the balcony above, the place where I usually hang out when the pups fight. I huffed and rolled my eyes.
"You ready Chase?" Rubble asked from across the arena.
"Ready!" I shouted in response.
"Good!" Rubble shouted, and suddenly his eyes went yellow, the telltale sign that a pup's power is activated. He slammed the ground, creating a massive fissure towards me, and I narrowly dodged it. This was the first time I fought Rubble, and realized that Rubble was a whole lot stronger on the field than from the balcony. Still, I knew I could beat him. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, and as I opened my eyes, I ran towards him in a burst of speed.
"What the?" Rubble spoke as I appeared beside him. I gave him a quick scratch, and hopped away, dodging his retaliation. He slammed the ground once more, making the ground crumble into pieces. He then started to chuck the individual pieces at me, each shot getting more precise than the previous. His strength was unbelievable. If he landed even a single hit, I would be down for the count. Luckily, I dodged every shard of rock hurtling towards me, and when Rubble ran out of pieces to throw, I quickly took my opportunity to jump in and get at him again. He didn't expect me to come on so quickly, and before he knew it, I had pinned him to the ground.
"Do you give up?" I asked him, paws on his belly and head.
"Never!" Rubble shouted and aimed a blow at me. I saw this and jumped back with a burst of speed. I sighed, knowing that Rubble was getting tired out. I, on the other hand, was just getting warmed up. He charged at me with his shoulder out front, and I jumped out of the way. He skidded to a halt and turned back around. I, however, was already one step ahead of him and zoomed to his back side, and, with a quick swing, knocked him off his feet. He gave a big grunt as he landed, and his body gave out slightly.
"Now do you give up?" I asked once more.
"I will no-" Rubble started, but I didn't wait to hear the end of it. I rushed up to him, swiped at him and drew a tiny bit of blood onto my claw. Suddenly, I felt a rush going through my veins, and my mind started to cloud. All I could remember was bringing my paw up to my face and licking my claw clean. Rubble watched in horror as 'I' stood there with a wide grin.
"Are we done now?" 'I' asked menacingly.
"Uhhh, Y-yes?" Rubble stuttered, shivering. 'I' stumbled over to Rubble, and a smile crept over 'my' face, 'my' teeth bared.
"Well, the spoils goes to the victor!" 'I' howled as a dove towards Rubble. Rubble covered his eyes with his paws, and waited for 'me' to do something. I stopped, blinked and stepped away. My mind became clear, and I looked around. My teeth were almost touching Rubble's neck, and the pups on the balcony was still watching, their eyes filled with horror, and Rubble was laying on the ground crying.
"I'm so sorry" I comforted Rubble. Rubble continued to cry. Being the youngest, I knew that he still had some part of him that was still a puppy. I laid beside him, a paw holding his own.
"I hope I didn't hurt you" I whispered softly.
"Well, I lost" Rubble muttered.
I helped Rubble up from the ground and got him into the back rooms. There, Marshall helps the pups after fighting, whether that was helping a wounded pup, or keeping energy levels high. Marshall was already waiting in the back, ready to bandage Rubble up.
"Huh, there doesn't seem to be much damage. Only a few scratches here and there" Marshall stated.
"Well, I still lost, and Chase made it out with nothing. I couldn't even land a single hit" Rubble mumbled. Marshall put a few bandages over the wounds, and sent him and me off. Outside, the other pups were there waiting for us.
"You won again, Chase!" Rocky congratulated.
"Yea, I guess I did" I replied in a bogged down manner.
"You didn't really mean to bite Rubble, right? It was just to scare him?" Zuma asked, concerned.
"No, I would never hurt you pups" I responded. It seemed to clear the dense atmosphere surrounding the pups. They seemed much more happy afterwards.
"Hey, why aren't you excited? You won!" Skye yipped happily.
"I just don't feel like myself I guess, and because I hurt Rubble" I responded.
"Well, You better get ready, because I'm going to fight you tomorrow!" Rocky told me excitedly. I groaned.
"For the last time, I don't fight!" I shouted.
"But you beat two of us now! I want to get a firsthand experience of fighting you! Unless, of course, you know you can't beat me" Rocky exclaimed. I grumbled.
"Fine, I'll fight you, but not tomorrow. I want to get some rest" I huffed.
"Deal!" Rocky yipped. I hobbled back to my pup house and closed my door. I leaned against the wall and rubbed my head. Why? Why did I do that? I need to rest. I flopped onto my bed, my pillow enveloped face. After a while of just laying there, I heard a voice from outside.
"Chase? It's dinner time" Ryder called.
"Coming!" I replied, quickly getting out of bed and matting my fur down. I went into the new lookout, still amazed by the beautiful infrastructure. Rocky and Ryder had renovated the place, and made it much bigger and much more stylish. There was a cafeteria, a recreational room, Ryder's office, and multiple hallways leading to the pups' homes and the arena. As I entered the cafeteria, I saw the other pups already digging into their dinners. I walked up to my bowl next to Marshall and Skye, who were giving me a glance here and there.
"Uh, guys, it's getting weird and a bit creepy the way you keep looking at me" I told the two pups.
"Oh, sorry, we're just excited for the fight with you and Rocky, that's all" Skye apologized. I rolled by eyes. Why is everyone suddenly interested in me fighting? I'm pretty sure that I made an explicit point that I hate fighting, and now it seems like everyone wants to fight me.
After dinner, I stumbled towards the rec room. I grabbed the TV remote and jumped onto a beanbag chair. I browsed through the channels until I got to Apollo. It was the one show that I could finally relax with. There's no violence, no fighting, no dangers, no pain. All the other pups joined me, and even though they were talking, I couldn't hear a word. I got absorbed into the episode, like I usually do, but this episode was quite unsettling for me. Apollo this time saved a family of dogs from a runaway train car, and the family were all German Shepherds. I watched as the mom and dad nuzzled their puppy, and the puppy nuzzled them back happily. I started to tear up a bit, and I closed my eyes and looked away.
"Chase, are you okay?" Skye asked, worried.
"I'm fine, it's nothing, really" I replied, crying. After the show, Skye walked me back to my room. I had stopped crying, but I couldn't get that scene out of my head. It played incessantly, and it triggered me.
"Chase?" Skye asked gently.
"Yea?" I respond.
"Are you sure you're okay? Does it remind you of your parents?" Skye questioned.
"Yea, kind of. My parents were killed in an accident. I don't really want to talk about it." I replied. Tears started to well up once more.
"Well, me and the other pups are here for you if you ever need a pup to listen" Skye assured.
"Thanks Skye, you're the best" I sniffed as I walked into my room. I shut the door, and flopped onto my bed again. I just kept thinking about that family. That family love. What does that feel like? I closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep. I tossed and turned, and slowly I drifted off to sleep.
That night, I had a dream. I was with my family, my mom, dad, and older brother, in a perfectly clear day and the sun at high noon. They were all in front of me, smiling, giving me hugs and kisses, just like in Apollo, and yet it seemed artificial. Eventually, I started to smile and I blinked. Suddenly, I found myself in a completely different scene. There was now an overcast in the sky, the sun had vanished, and the air was filled with ash. Fire burned in the corner of my eyes, and many bodies lay around me. My mom, dad, and brother were still in front of me, but different. They had sustained injuries, and were dying right in front of my eyes. I screamed and tried to run towards them, but I couldn't force myself to move. I looked down, and what I saw horrified me. My paws were stained red, red with the blood of my family.
"Monster…" my brother gasped.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this new story. Originally, I had Rocky be the main character, but decided against it, as most of my stories is based around Rocky. Anyways, Comment, Grammar, Thanks for Reading!