A/N: Chapter 39 of Ginga Densetsu Alayus. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OCs. Ginga Densetsu Weed and the other Ginga series belongs to the rightful owners.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 39: Counterstrike!
Nearby the river...
The snowstorm slowly turned into a blizzard that swirled through the area, throwing blankets and blankets of fresh snow everywhere. After dragging both water-logged dogs out of the stream the small group of Ohu soldiers formed a tight ball in hopes of raising body heat. Weed was getting better since he was wrapped first before Alayus was wrapped up in her own little pile, the latter's wound seemed to have stopped bleeding but it still needed to be checked out for any abnormalities.
Weed had a dazed look on his face when he was dragged out but soon he came back to his senses as his comrades shouted his name and he let out a small groan, getting their attention. He looked around trying to get his bearings before remembering where he was. Feeling the massive amounts of fur around him he could see his comrades' smiling faces. Kyoshiro had settled down on his left, GB on his right, Ken right below him and Kagetora on top; together they raised a lot of heat between them and it warmed up their leader immediately.
"Finally awake, huh?" Kagetora asked from where he lay, his lips pulled back in a smirk. "Damn, it took awhile."
"You did it, Weed!" GB exclaimed, his tail wagging excitedly. "I was worried you wouldn't make it!"
"Oi GB, quit wagging your tail!" Kagetora snapped irritably. "I know you're happy and all but you're hitting me in the face!"
"Is Alayus okay?" Weed asked.
"She's over there with the rest of our group." Ken replied, gesturing to the other bundle not too far away with a paw. Jerome, Ryo, Ryu, Rocket and Tesshin were wrapped around the German Shepherd, shielding her from the cold. "Although she was pulled out last the others managed to wrap her with their bodies just in time. Especially with that nasty bite mark, any longer down there and who knows what would've happened."
For Alayus she had her eyes closed, softly breathing as her body temperature began to rise again. She felt as though she was floating on clouds, the coldness had died away and there was no pain what so ever.
"Wake up, Alayus."
Who's calling me? She thought, looking around in hopes of narrowing down the source. Sounds familiar...but who...
"Alayus-sama! Come back!" Another voice floated in her ear. "We're all waiting for you!"
Someone else...I have a feeling like I know them. The German Shepherd turned to run towards the voices, a white light appearing in her vision. That light...perhaps it'll tell me who it is...
"Mmmmm..." A small noise escaped her lips as she regained consciousness. Figuratively her spirit crossed through the light and returned to her body and she felt the massive amounts of warm bodies pressed up against her. "J...Jerome...?"
"I'm here." He replied quickly when he heard his name being called, watching as Alayus opened her eyes. He had been hoping and wishing for her to recover and never tore his eyes away from her. "I never left you."
"Alayus-sama, we're here as well!"
"We won't leave you either!"
"Ryo...Ryu..."
"Don't forget about me!" Rocket spoke up from below, acting as a cushion for all of them since he was the largest. "I've never had so many dogs on top of me though."
"First time for everything huh?" Alayus chuckled, getting her comrades to smile. Once all the dogs unwrapped themselves everyone contemplated on their next course of action.
"How long has it been?" Weed asked, wanting to get an estimate.
"We did stay a long time here to warm the two of you up." Tesshin agreed as he turned his head towards Gajou. "I wonder how the others are doing?"
"We need to get back to Gajou fast...urk!" Alayus winced and carefully nosed her flank with concern. The fur around it had been torn by Hougen's teeth so the skin underneath was still pink. Shit...it's still raw and because of being in the cold water...
"Are you okay?" Jerome asked worriedly, noticing what she was doing. "It still hurts doesn't it?"
"Yeah but I'll be okay, I can still run." She assured them with a soft smile. "I'll try my best to match your pace."
"Then lets get going." Weed took the lead, leading them back to where the main fight was occurring. "With just our luck, Hougen must've already be there!"
Gajou...
The fighting was still raging around the structure and by this time Missile and John have appeared on the scene. The old Shepherd was a devil as he ripped through his enemies. Missile detached himself from his side and rushed off to help those in need, using both his speed and size to knock his opponents over.
"John, I'm glad you're here." Akame padded up as John disposed a dog, wagging his tail in greeting. "We're gonna get back Gajou."
"Looks like I've arrived just in time!" John replied and the two dogs began running towards the structure. Kurotora himself ran up beside them and the three old warriors rushed across the battlefield. Hiro, Reika and Mel were also present as they helped their fellow comrades. Even Moss tossed his opponent to the side with ease, looking around for others to pick off.
"We have one simple objective and that is to take back Gajou!" Akame shouted to be heard above the winds as the looming structure appeared before them. "The time is now, we won't have another chance like this!"
"Okay!" Kurotora replied and the three of them separated, running along the various sides and taking out the remaining soldiers of Hougen's unit that were perched on the rocks. Knocking off or in John's case, scaring off, the enemy all three stood victorious on top of the structure of rocks. "That didn't take long at all!"
"Mmmm." Akame replied as he swept his gaze across the field. Those that were still standing smiled back, happy to have reclaimed what was theirs. The Kishu took a deep breath before shouting, "We've finally taken back Gajou!" The clearing rang with cheers as the Ohu Army claimed their victory.
"Wait..." John growled when he noticed a figure approaching through the snow. "We're not done just yet."
"What is it John?" asked Akame. "Something wrong?"
"...he's back..." with that, Akame looked out to see Hougen stalk forward, his eyes set on Gajou. A low chuckle escaped from the Great Dane's lips as he pounced on the nearest soldier, ripping his throat out in a flash. The others backed away from the mad dog but those who were fearless ran at him.
"Hougen..."
"That son of a bitch!" Kurotora snarled as he watched the carnage from above, narrowing his eye at the brute. "How the hell is he still alive?! I outta go there and rip a hole or two in him for good!"
"Everyone! Don't throw your lives away!" Akame spoke, hopping down with both John and Kurotora by his side. "We have to wait till our leader arrives."
"But what if he doesn't arrive quickly?" Moss asked with concern. "Surely we have to hold Hougen back the best we can!"
"That's right! We can't let Hougen take back Gajou!"
"We worked too hard for this! Our other friends died for this!" All around the dogs rallied each other to raise their courage before rushing at Hougen. The Great Dane merely smirked and ran forward to greet his enemies. One by one the dogs fell, the casualties rising by the minute. Blood flew into the air like fountain, tainting the snow red.
"Come on you bastards! Is that the best you all can do?" Hougen growled as he stepped on the corpse of the dog he just killed, his mouth salivating with eagerness. He had a crazy look in his eyes as he gazed at the surrounding Ohu Army. "I'll beat you and slaughter all of you to death!"
Hot Spring...
Gin's ear twitched and the leader turned his head to face the direction where Gajou was located. A thoughtful expression crossed his face and he climbed out of the water, shaking off any excessive droplets before padding up to the entrance.
"What's up?" Buruge asked with curiosity.
"Something happened..." was the answer and the leader tilted his head up to watch the weather. "The tide seemed to have changed...even the skies above are filled with more thunder than before..."
"It has and it doesn't look very good..." Bat spoke up, his own ears twitching slightly. Within his mind's eye he could oversee the chaos at Gajou. "Hougen has made his move."
"So that's what it is..." Kite nodded his head before looking at Gin. "Then will you be going?"
"Yeah..." The silver Tora turned to address the generals, ears up in alert and his tail curled over his back. "Hougen will be stopped and his death will the last one to end this war."
"We have full faith in you." Kite spoke as the other generals nodded their heads in agreement. "We've seen the errors of our ways, through the hatred of Humans and through following Hougen."
"We wish you the best of luck." Buruge added.
"The only ones who can bring Hougen to his senses would be the Ohu army." said Bat. "Unfortunately, that guy is too far off the edge to be saved."
"We'll see what we can do. If nothing else then Hougen will be eliminated." Gin dipped his head to them in farewell and disappeared, running like a silver arrow towards Gajou.