Dark chapter is dark. Seriously, this is probably the main reason that I gave this story a T rating.

Chapter 11: Alpha

The challenge rang out loud through the caverns of the Undercity, drawing everyone around into silence. Except for Jin, who came off with an "Oh, snap!" somewhere in the background.

Up until now, Kai Hui had seemed more like a disappointed parent scolding a child, but now he started to regard Chou much more seriously, a deep frown forming on his muzzle. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Exactly as I said. I'm challenging you for the title of Alpha. You must accept my challenge or else you forfeit it." Chou's voice held no fear whatsoever. Only determination.

Hui paused for a long moment before he nodded. "If you insist. I will give you your challenge." He snapped his fingers and the Lang Qun surrounding Chou lifted him onto his feet and removed the chains.

Ox and Croc could only watch in silent horror as the wolves formed a ring around the taijuitu in the center of the room. The two of them were lifted up as well and carried to the edge of the makeshift arena before being forced back down again. From here, they could clearly see Chou and Hui facing each other from opposite sides.

"What is that idiot thinking?" Ox shook his head. "He doesn't seriously think he can take on Hui, right?"

"You don't think he's doing this for us, do you?" Croc asked anxiously.

"Relax, guys," Jin said from behind them, putting his paws on top of their heads and turning them to face forward. "Just sit back and enjoy the show. After all, it's gonna be the last one ya ever see before I take yer heads." From their current positions, they had no choice but to do just that. They certainly couldn't relax though. Even if they hadn't known him for very long, they considered Chou a friend and worried for his safety.

The wolf tossed his dao swords behind him, as such weapons were not allowed in this duel, and crouched into a kung fu stance as he stared down Hui. The current Alpha still didn't seem quite sure what to make of all this and remained in his casual, arms folded behind the back, stance. "I'll ask you again. What do you think you're doing? You can't beat me. I taught you everything you know."

"Not everything," Chou countered. "I still have the skills I learned before I joined you."

"Oh? And what would those 'skills' be?"

"How to fight like a real wolf." Hui grit his teeth at that comment, but had no time to give a comeback as Chou charged straight for him and threw a punch.

As Ox and Croc watched Chou, they realized what he meant by skills he learned before the Lang Qun. The fighting style he used now was a blend of refined kung fu techniques and the rougher movements of typical streetfighting. No wonder they felt such kinship with him.

Not that any of it actually worked. Just like their encounter in the fireworks factory, Hui became a living blur, effortlessly dodging every punch and kick that Chou threw at him while barely moving a muscle. "What is that technique?" Croc thought aloud.

"It's called 'Fleetfoot'," Hui answered, glancing over at them while still dodging around Chou. "I can harness my chi energy to enhance my movements to the point where I can move faster than any mortal body should allow. To put it simply, it makes me..." he finally raised a paw and caught Chou's next punch, smirking at him. "...untouchable." He kicked Chou to the floor.

The younger wolf clutched his side as Hui came over, looking down at him pitifully. "Do you see how futile this is yet? Why don't you stop this foolishness and join back up with me already?"

Chou suddenly shot up with an uppercut that, to everyone's surprise, actually succeeded in nailing Hui under the chin. The blow was so powerful that it threw him off the ground and onto his back. "Who's untouchable, now?" Chou smirked.

Hui raised his arm to his mouth and glared viciously when he saw a few drops of blood stain his paw. "You have just bitten off more than you can chew, brat."

Jin laughed. "Aw man, this is getting good! Someone shoulda' brought snacks."

Both wolves rose up again, now equally incensed. This time it was Hui who attacked first, using Fleetfoot to vanish from his spot without warning and punching Chou in the face before he could react. Chou snarled and made an attempt to punch him back, but Hui sidestepped and kneed him in the side, cracking his armor and sending him stumbling backwards. By the time he regained his footing, Hui was suddenly behind him and he was kicked to the floor once again. Chou struggled to get back up, coughing up some blood.

"Chou, give up!" Ox found himself shouting. "You can't win!"

He was joined not by Croc, but by another wolf. "Please Chou, give up!" Lu called out from the sidelines, fear and worry evident in his voice.

"You should listen to your friends," Hui advised, eyes narrowing dangerously. "You should really, really, listen to them."

Chou coughed again and glared. "Sorry, I was never good at following orders." He had only made it up onto all-fours, but used this position to lunge at Hui, catching him off-guard again and sinking his fangs deep into his leg.

"Aggh! Filthy mongrel!" Hui screamed, using his other leg to kick Chou off of him. He didn't even wait for him to get back up this time and kicked him again, sending him tumbling out of the arena, past the Lang Qun and into the wall of a ruined building. The wall couldn't take the impact and collapsed on top of him.

"Chou has left the arena," Lu hastily announced from the sidelines. "That means the winner is Hui-"

"Shut up!" Hui snapped at him. "I am the Alpha here! It's over when I say it's over!"

Limping slightly on his wounded leg, Hui made his way over to Chou, who was just starting to pull himself out from the rubble. Even from their limited vantage point, Ox and Croc could see that he looked like an absolute mess now, his armor shattered in several places and his body caked with blood and bruises. By the way he labored just to breathe, they guessed that some of his ribs had probably been broken as well. "Hui, stop already!" Ox yelled. "He's beaten!"

Hui ignored him, reaching down and grabbing Chou by the back of his head. "Why do you persist in defying me?" he demanded. "Can't you see what I am trying to do? All I have done, all I have ever done, is for the betterment of our species! Why can't you see that?"

Chou looked up at him and, despite the circumstances, he started laughing, blood spilling from his mouth as he did. "Because I know who you are."

"...What?"

"You think I've never heard about you before? Kai Hui, the guy that my dad used to pick on when he was little." He coughed a little more. "You can pretend all you want that you're in control. That you're running the show. But you know what?" His gaze hardened. "At the end of the day, you're no Alpha. You're just that nerdy little pup who could never fit in."

That was the last straw for Hui. His eyes lit up in a fiery rage they had never seen from him before. He dragged Chou over to one of the larger rocks and slammed his head into it. "You think so, do you?! You think that you're better than me?!"

He pulled his head back and slammed it into the rock again.

"I am the Alpha!"

And again.

"This is my pack! MINE!"

And again.

"And I will not be told otherwise by some uncultured, half-evolved trash like you!"

*CRACK*

Everything froze. There was a horrible silence in the room as they all slowly began to process what just happened. Even Jin the Assassin lost his smirk and stared wide-eyed at the scene.

"No..." Ox gasped. Croc couldn't manage to say anything at all.

Hui glared down in contempt at the young wolf whose skull he had just caved in. "You brought this on yourself, you ingrate." He left Chou's lifeless body on the rubble, slowly forming a pool of blood, and walked back to his troops.

Though it was hard to tell how they felt behind their masks, the Lang Qun seemed conflicted over this incident, looking back and forth between themselves uncomfortably and murmuring to themselves. Lu made the mistake of voicing this aloud. "You didn't have to kill him..."

Hui stopped in his tracks right in front of him. "I didn't, did I? You are questioning my authority as well?"

The twisted look in his eyes kept Lu from saying what he clearly wanted to. "N-No...no, sir..."

"Good. Keep it that way. I am the Alpha. Don't any of you ever forget that again."

Just like that, Kai Hui returned to his normal self as if none of that had happened, despite his paws still being covered in Chou's blood. He moved back to the center of the arena and called out to the rest of the Lang Qun. "Let's move out." He whistled.

They didn't budge.

"Now!"

The Lang Qun, with some reluctance, began to head towards the exit of the chamber, wheeling the last remaining cannon. "Don't forget to bring them," he pointed to Ox and Croc. He then followed after them, still walking with a limp.

"Right, right. I got it," Jin said, hefting the two masters up. "...ya freaking psychopath," he muttered.

As they were walked out, they were forced to pass by the broken body of the wolf once known as Chou. As they did, they finally realized what that had all been about. "This was his plan," Ox said. "He never intended to defeat Hui. He just wanted to stand up to him and help break his control over the Lang Qun."

Croc nodded solemnly. "He sacrificed himself for the sake of his pack. He truly would have made a great Alpha."

They looked over their shoulders to see their lost friend one last time before they left the area.

"Rest in peace, Chou," Ox said softly. "Your death is not going to be in vain. Not if we can help it."