God, another huge gap in which I haven't updated...and this is a fairly short chapter, too...I don't really know what I'm doing anymore...and it's really hard to call each of the wolves by a different name...I'd better have someone recognize them damn soon, or I'm going to be struggling with this...anyway, I'm starting to get ideas, but...I'm not sure. I don't think that they'll all die right here and now...none of them...I may have to drag this out another month...or kill them all right here, right now. I need your input, TELL ME.
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Roxas leaped at the new wolf, biting down hard on empty air, teeth snapping together painfully. He blinked in surprise. The silver wolf had disappeared, and as this hit Roxas, so did something else. He whined in pain as fangs scored his side.
'How did he do that..?' the blonde wolf thought, wheeling to attack despite the trickle of blood from his side.
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Cloud swung again, making Sephiroth dodge away from him with a snap. The blonde growled to himself, disappointed that he hadn't been able to wound the silver wolf enough so that he'd slow down at least a little. The werewolves were fast, and Sephiroth could attack one second, then be on your other side the next.
Even now, the lupine was leaping at him, fangs bared in a snarl. He ducked, feeling the wolf pass over him in a rush of air. He spun, cleaving the air in case of a swift counter. Instead, he saw Sephiroth on his right, streaking towards him, and another silver blur, coming straight down on him.
'Riku..?' Cloud thought as time seemed to slow. The newcomer was about the same size, but… 'No,' the blonde thought, almost disappointed. 'It's not…'
His gaze switched between the two, the inescapable reality hitting him…there was no way he could dodge both attacks without being bitten. He braced himself, the silver sword a blur in the moonlight.
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Roxas backed away from the new menace, not knowing what he could do. This wolf could move faster than he could see, an aluminum blur that hit him again and again. No matter what the blonde tried, the wolf eluded it, striking back hard and fast.
'No…' he thought, desperation setting in. "No…what am I supposed to do now…?'
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Sora swore as the silver wolf ahead of him reached the trees, plunging into them with the two women right beside him. A trail of blood led through the trees, and they hurried along, sprinting.
'Crap,' Sora thought, 'He's getting away…damn, he's fast.'
He had just disappeared ahead of them when they caught up. Yuffie screamed and hurled herself at the wolf, striking madly. The wolf just snarled, dodging her attack from where he had been poised dangerously over Leon's form and disappearing into the forest once again. Yuffie turned away, kneeling in the soil next to the unconscious brunette.
"This must be why it was covered in blood," she said, trying not to sob. Leon lay, breathing raspy and irregular, pale. She inspected the bandage, saying, "It was Cloud who put this on…but he's not here…why would he just leave him like this?" She pulled off the blood-soaked rags, gasping. The claw marks were still leaking blood steadily, deep and serious. Yuffie immediately turned to them, saying, "Go on, catch that bastard. I'll stay here and make sure that he's all right and that Cid finds him."
Tifa and Sora hesitated, wanting to help, but one look at Yuffie's expression and they swallowed their doubt, nodding. It was a look that said clearly, 'If you don't find the asshole that did this, then someone's gonna have hell to pay and it sure won't be me,' one that neither wanted to argue with.
"All right," Tifa said. "Be careful, and take good care of him."
Yuffie nodded. "I will. Go!" She turned back, leaving them to follow the trail of scarlet spatters into the trees.
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Roxas ducked, feeling sharp fangs graze him again, and he winced. Scores of cuts littered his body, adding to the ones from their mysterious attacker.
'What the hell is going on?' Roxas thought. 'There's more than one, but which one is to blame for all of this?'
There was a snapping twig next to the two of them, and they both turned. Yet another wolf emerged from the trees, dripping in blood.
'Oh, no…' Roxas thought, starting to panic. 'There's another one!' There was a whine from the wolf that he had been fighting, and Roxas looked to see him watching the newcomer with pity and worry in his eyes.
Roxas seized this chance, pouncing on the unsuspecting viciously. He clamped his teeth into the silver fur on his back, ignoring the howl of pain and subsequent attack from the new wolf, who was ripping at him to try and get him off.
'I…I can't…' Roxas thought, his mind vague and distant with pain and blood loss. 'Hold…on…'
A thud sounded, and he watched detachedly as the other wolf hit a tree, thrown hard by a kick from the black-clad woman. Roxas' mind soon was too bleary for him to see much, and his teeth loosened. He barely felt it as he hit the ground, dizzy.
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Sora and Tifa burst onto the scene, pausing for only a second. Roxas was biting deep into a silver wolf's back as the one that they had been chasing snapped at him, ripping into the golden fur and to the flesh below.
Tifa yelled, her black boot connecting with the hunted's head. His body smashed into a tree, and he sank to the ground with a whimper. Roxas, meanwhile, drooped, falling to the forest floor and lying there motionless. Sora shouted, the Keyblade smashing into the wolf's side. The silver body tumbled to the ground, trying to recover, but Tifa flipped, slamming her foot down and grinding his head into the ground. He slumped, out cold.
'Shit…' Sora thought, looking at the two. 'Neither one is Riku…which means that they both could've killed Aerith…which means that there could be more of them.' He stared at Tifa, and she just looked back grimly, thinking the exact same thing.
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Cloud's gaze switched between the two, watching as they both flew towards him. He tensed…
And a silver blur smashed into the wolf above him. Cloud didn't even pause to wonder who it was, blocking Sephiroth's attack with the sword, slashing. Obviously, Sephiroth was surprised, too, and the metal carved across his silver-furred side, leaving a long trail of red that bled onto the floor. He snarled, backing away.
Behind the blonde, the silver wolf and Riku leaped to their feet, snarling and growling at each other. Furious that he had been interrupted, the wolf attacked, fangs slashing. But Riku was equally, if not more, pissed off. First Cloud suspected him of killing someone, tried to kill him…what, three times now? And, now that he had caught up, he had needed to pull the blonde's ass out of his predicament? Riku snapped back, glad that he could finally bite something, fighting back viciously.
Blood spattered the ground liberally as the two pairs fought, showing no mercy as they ripped each other apart.
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Tifa and Sora looked back, seeing with shock that the wolf that they had been pursuing had disappeared.
"Dammit!" Sora yelled, looking around him wildly. "How can he take that much damage and still be able to even walk?"
Tifa shook her head. "I have no idea, but one thing's for sure. We have to get Roxas out of here. He's lost a lot of blood from his own damage." Leaning down, she slung the golden wolf over her shoulder, turning to Sora. "I probably can't fight well with him like this, so watch my back, all right?"
"Sure," Sora agreed, hefting Oathkeeper. "I can do that."
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A.N. Oh, yeah, another chapter. Cha-ching. WHO'S GOOD! WHO'S GOOD! Not me, that's for sure. Heh heh heh…I am far too bizarre for words, no?
I love you all oh so much!
Chris