Two boys sat on the ground just outside of a small town, one that seemed to be unnamed. Two young horses fed on the almost too dry grass not far off, ears twitching and tails flipping occasionally.

It had been almost forty days since their father had been killed, and since then, the two boys had been staying in the Indian camps with some that had known their father, but after an amount of time, they had snuck off and left the people behind. But Alfred and Matthew seemed to have changed their ways dramatically. Matthew had become a stick of dynamite, fuse ready to blast off at the smallest spark. Alfred had become reclusive, only speaking to Matthew and no one else.

At the time, Matthew had just finished throwing a tantrum. It wasn't totally uncommon, but it still wasn't something that Alfred knew how to handle yet. Sighing, he pulled his brother into a tight hug, letting the boy slam his fists against his equally scrawny chest and scream into his shirt. He simply held his twin close and let him let it out.

"Mattie, Mattie." He said quietly into his brother's ear, over his heaving breaths. "Ya need ta keep control of yer temper. This is getting outta hand."

"I know- I know, I can't… and I just… can't… do it!" the young blonde hyperventilated into his brother's chest. "I try! But I can't-"

"Matthew, lookit me." Alfred said, putting his young hands over his brother's cheeks. He lifted the face that was almost completely a mirror image to his own. He gazed into the slightly darker eyes of Matthew. "Remember what Pa used ta say? Anger doesn't help anyone…" He let the words die off on his lips so that Matthew could finish it.

"It only hu-hurts everyone." The boy choked, heaving the sobs out.

"Exactly." Alfred nodded. "Ya need ta remember that whenever ya get angry like that." He said. "Ya almost went ghost on that guy…"

"He was- he was hurting that dog! And now it's dead- I don't-Ya shouldn't have had to take the hit… Alfie…" He reached up with a thin hand, tracing a large cut on his brother's cheek where he had been smacked by the offending man's rake. It was already swelling a painful red and purple.

"I know Mattie, I was just as mad. It's okay to be angry. But ya coulda hurt someone." Alfred scolded lightly. "I know that what he did wasn' right. But we can't kill him because of it. It would make us worse than him, ya know?"

"I guess you're right…" Matthew nodded, large blue eyes watering up once more. "I'm sorry Alfie…" He said, putting his chilled hand over his brother's injured cheek. "I need to stop."

"Look Mattie, You're good. You are so kind and we've been through hell in the last while." He shuddered at his own choice in words. "But we have to keep low- or we'll end up in the calaboose, or even worse!"

"I-I know." The boy nodded. He turned from his brother and pulled his knees to his chest, hugging them tightly with trembling hands. "What should we do? We can't just ride around forever."

Alfred was silent for a moment, his eyes closing as the sun set in front of them. Avenger and Liberty whinnied in the distance and started to trot back towards their masters and friends.

"Let's find a big town. Let's find a town to settle on down in, we'll get jobs with the horses, like we used to. And then we'll grow up their- earn the people's trust. And then maybe I could become a sheriff! You could too- And we'll protect people like Pa always talked about! Like those stories he used to tell us about!"

Matthew chuckled at his brother's little bout of enthusiasm.

"I don't think I'd be a very good sheriff. I could be your deputy maybe." He muttered. "But I'd like to work with more horses again for sure. Maybe Lib will have babies one day?" He smiled, looking at his brother, who made a face and stuck out his tongue.

"No way! She's not like that! There aint no stud alive that's good enough for her!"

Alfred hadn't dreamt of his past since… scratch that. He never did. Sometimes he would think about it, but it never was so reoccurring that it would show up while he was asleep. He typically tried to not think on it too much because he wanted to look to the future instead.

Well it was silly to think about that now- now was no time to even be dreaming. Especially when- were those explosions? What was that loud noise if it wasn't an explosions? Were there screams? But- if there were explosions, then there would be fire… and fire meant…?

Mattie.

Lukas was writhing on the ground, Matthias was crouching over him and whining in worry, licking at his face and hands wand nudging him gently with his nose. Arthur watched in horror as Lukas' face seemed to stretch, his body contorted, his entire body convulsing in front of them all.

"Matthias! Did you bite him?" Vladimir demanded, standing between the transforming man and the rest of the group.

Of course, the wolf man couldn't answer, so he responded by looking at the other with uncertainty. Vladimir groaned and jumped as Arthur let out a (Manly, once again) scream as something suddenly gripped his arm tightly. He looked down and saw that Alfred was holding fast to his singed sleeve. His eyes had snapped open and his jaw was set in pain. Arthur put his own hand over the sheriff's gently, trying to calm him down.

"Where-s Matt?"

"Alfred… your brother's outside. He seems to have… lost control." Alfred's eyes flared at that. "He's fighting someone- the Hell hound. Roderich."

"His temper… I have to stop him…!" Alfred started trying to sit up, his body shook with exertion and his brow furrowed in concentration. The sheriff's lips were curled back in a feral snarl and his teeth were bared. His glasses were gone, but he seemed to be seeing more clearly than ever. His blue eyes were more focused than Arthur had ever seen them before, more determined.

"Alfred- your injuries-!"

"Who's screaming?!" Alfred suddenly demanded.

"It's Lukas- I think Matthias might have bitten him…" Vladimir said with gritted teeth.

"Matthias? What-"

"Don't ask." Arthur interrupted. "Just know it's Roderick's fault." The sheriff nodded in understanding.

"Jig is up." Alfred glared ahead, forcing himself onto his feet. "How much has been destroyed?"

"Wh- you act like Matthew being like this is normal." Lovino said with a growl. "I've never seen anyone this mad."

"After Pa died, Matt was always just… angry. I was the only one who could calm him down." Alfred explained past heavy breaths. He glanced at the group as he leaned against the wall for support. "Look- I'm only gonna have a little bit of time before I'm outta power. So-"

We've got a plan already, you dolt. A familiar voice sounded in Alfred's head. He whipped around, faster than he should have, and saw two wolves staring at him. One was large and a golden blonde, while the other was slightly smaller and had much lighter fur. Two shades of piercing blue stared at the rider harshly.

"You- in my head? Lukas?"

Shut up and listen. Even though I'm a mutt like the idiot here, I can still summon a troll. At least… I think I can anyway. What's gonna happen here is this: I'm going to summon the troll. When that happens, we'll have to the count of twenty to get in and surprise him even more. You get in to Matthew in that time. Calm him down quick, because once you get to him, it's only me, Matthias, Arthur and Antonio will be fighting gospel sharp. After that, Matthew is hopefully back in the game. Then… we'll have to see what happens from there.

"Okay, but Even I don't know if I can hold up through a fight-"

"Matthew can. He just needs a good kick in the right direction so that he doesn't blow up the whole town." Arthur said, crossing his arms. "And as soon as you're resting, the better off we are." The doctor scolded. "We can't have you running amuck when you can't even stand properly."

Besides! I need to get a good kick at the guy. Matthias' voice filled Alfred's head this time.

"Just don't bite anything else, dolt." Vladimir glared at the hound, noticing his eager look. "And if you bite another… supernatural… you and whoever you bite will die. Be careful." Matthias and Lukas looked at each other, then back at the vampire and nodded in understanding.

"Alright. Let's head out." Antonio said, rubbing his temples gingerly. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can get my siesta."

"If your home is still standing." Arthur scoffed, but standing as well. "I'll help the Sheriff get out into the open. Antonio? How much longer can you shield the town?"

Alfred hadn't noticed until then, but Antonio looked as if he had been hit by a train. His darker skin was coated in a sheen of sweat and he was shaking with exertion. His hands were blistering as if they were being held to a fire and couldn't move.

"Not too much longer, Amigo. By the time sun rises, I'll be drained."

"Alright. Lukas? Are you ready to go?" Vladimir asked, looking down at the wolf, who nodded. The Romanian sighed and turned to the door. "Then let's go."

As soon as the door was opened, a blast of hot air flew in. Only Alfred didn't duck to shield his face or stop the searing heat from touching him. Instead, he stepped forward and out the door in front of the others. Despite his near fall to his knees, he held fast and looked up to see that Roderick and Matthew were right above them now. It was an incredible phenomenon to see how the great waves of flame seemed to hit an invisible wall and spread around them as if they were encased in a bubble.

"Anything can get out- nothing can get in." Antonio's shaky voice said from behind Alfred, who nodded.

"Then I'd better saddle up." He sighed, taking his hand away from the doorframe. "Arthur, get ta yer place, take shelter there and make sure everyone's alright. Then get Toris to help with flame control. We can't have Antonio doing all of the work. He'll know what to do. Tell him I'll pay 'im back later. Oh, and tell Avenger to help gather the wounded unless we call."

"But why Tori-Alfr-!"

"Please don't fight me on this. I want as little damage as we can get. Mattie… his powers aint ta be trifled with. I'm already lettin' Lukas an' everyone get in the range of fire. Yer already close enough as is."

"Alfred I am not stupid enough to put myself where I know I haven't a chance. But if you get killed out there, I will never forgive you. Down to your handkerchief. I would hold a grudge to rival that of Liberty if she's without hear?"

Alfred looked as though he had been slapped, but when another blast was stopped right above them, and another hot gust of air came through, he simply nodded, a tired smile adorning his exhausted face.

Putting his, abnormally ungloved, hand to his mouth, the Sheriff let out a shrill whistle that echoed like the ghosts of the past. The group turned their heads in the direction Alfred was facing and watched as- through the smoke- a large, black creature came galloping through.

Liberty skidded to a rushed halt in front of Alfred, instantly nuzzling her master's face affectionately. The rider chuckled good-naturedly and hugged her briefly, before turning to Lukas.

"Ready?" The pale hound nodded, and to Alfred's dismay, so did the larger one. "Matthias-"

Hey, someone's gotta keep him safe too! He insisted in that persistent echo that Alfred had yet to get used to. Shaking his head, he weakly and unsurely mounted Liberty, causing the Mare to huff and bob her head in compliance.

"Alright then… Let's get." And with a kick of his heel, though weak it was, Alfred and his Mare burst into flame, becoming the flaming riders once more. Though, it seemed, his flame wasn't as bright, and his fire wasn't as warm as it should have been. No, Alfred's flame was subdued and flickering out. It was a wonder that he had transformed in the first place. But despite this, he looked down at the group and jerked his flaming skull to the side as if to say 'come on then'.

They loped forward and avoided the flaming hoof-prints that Liberty left in her wake. Alfred seemed to absorb the heat as if it were a mere summer breeze, while the hounds were forced to keep their furry heads down to avoid it. But the two stopped just before they could exit the bubble of protection, while the rider stopped after slipping right through.

"You're up." Alfred said in his blazed voice, the sound ricocheting through the air like a bullet. Lukas nodded and closed his eyes in concentration.

A great, green beast appeared above him. Floating hands appeared to the side of its brawny torso, while a giant bearded head attached to its thick neck. It faded to simple wisps at the waist down until it was nothing to be seen. But the teeth protruding from its lower lip and glowing yellow eyes showed that it was ready to take on an army. It turned to the wolf as if asking for directions, which Lukas gave.

1

Split up the fight. That's all, keep the darker one away while the Rider talks to the other. Try to hurry.

2

The troll, as Lukas had called it, nodded once and shot upward in a speeding bullet of green. Alfred and Matthias watched with utter amazement as it, literally, blasted right in between the two brawlers and broke them apart. Then it turned to Roderich and started pushing and shoving him back, so that he couldn't take the chance to right himself.

3,4,5,6

Alfred shot up, so fast that Matthew didn't even know of his brother's presence until his arm latched around the blue rider's torso. He yanked him down and onto Liberty, then tapped his heels again to tell the grand horse to stop. Alfred took his brother's skull into his bony hands and glared right into Matthew's eyes.

14, 15, 16

"Matthew." He simply said, darkly. The other squirmed in his, surprisingly, vice grip. The two held eye contact for a few moments, of course never blinking. But Matthias was sure that if they had eyelids at the time, they still wouldn't have done so.

17, 18, 19

Guys! I'm outta time here! Hurry it up!

The voice snapped Matthew out of his trance. He looked, really looked, at his twin with burning blue eyes. The fire around him started to die down and his skin began to reform as Alfred kicked Liberty's sides again to let her lower back to earth.

20.

"Al? Oh gods, Alfred is that you?" Matthew asked, touching the flame-eaten hand with his own flesh one. It caught fire instantly. The sheriff nodded stiffly, touching his badge and then his chest, where his heart should have been. Then he touched his brother's with the same finger. Matthew just stared, not even looking down as the cloth of his shirt caught aflame.

"I understand… Al… I'm so sorry… I just-!" But he was cut off as Alfred's hand covered his mouth- also setting it on fire- and he pointed up at the Hell hound above, who was starting to stand up again, for the troll had dissolved.

Lukas! Matthias' shout was heard in their heads, but there was no time to look back now.

"Matthias! Go tell Antonio he can let down the shield!" Matthew shouted before he burst into flame once more and hopped off of Liberty, Alfred close behind. They seemed to communicate silently with the Mare, who nodded and trotted over to where the two hounds were. She bucked her head back and Matthias understood. He slid his snout beneath Lukas' torso and heaved him onto his large back. It was awkward going, but Lib helped by nudging and pushing with her nose to get the paler wolf onto his brother's back.

Just as they had started off, a huge ball of flame hit the barrier again, result of an attack by Roderich. Matthias barely took a look back, but he knew that all he would see was a great wall of burning air.

The three barreled into the home they had been previously occupying, to find that Antonio was still inside. He looked even worse now, but his body had been encased in a dim, green glow that matched his eyes. Matthias stared at him, in pure wonder.

What the hell are you? he wondered, knowing he wouldn't get an answer. But to his surprise, Antonio panted out, looking right into his blue eyes with shining, malicious, green ones.

"I am called Davy Jones…!"

WHOO HOO HOO! I DIDN'T TAKE TEN YEARS!

So wow! Yeah, Antonio is Davy Jones I know a lot of you were asking but now you know! I might take a bit on the next update but I think only two chapters left! Drop a review pretty please! It means more than the world to me!

See you next time!