~Chapter 5~

"Shade!"

He only heard Blossom, but saw nothing but dirt in his vision. Sharp pains were inching their ways into his shoulders and back, and he could hear the terrified cries of the others.

Shade could feel claws raking down his spine painfully, and feel the sticky blood soak his fine fur. He squirmed desperately under the weight that had pinned him down, and managed to catch a glimpse of his assailant.

It was female, dark blue and wings flared, pinning him to the earth. She had unusually orange-colored eyes, and three hedgehog-like spikes on the back of her head. Her face was hardened in anger, and with the agility of lightning, swiped her talons over Shade's eye.

Shade snarled in pain and fury, and felt the vision in his left eye go red. He raised his own claws and sliced them across the girl's cheek, making her grip loosen ever so slightly. Shade twisted under the body and pushed her away with his foot. He stood up, his own wings flared out in a threat display. Behind his attacker were Blossom, holding Memphis tightly to her chest, and Berry standing her ground before another Chao; a male Hero Chao with his own pheonix wings held out in aggression. Berry was hissing defiantly at the threatening figure, fists ready to strike a blow if he made his move.

Shade focused on his own fight. The dark female launched herself forward with much speed and butted her head into Shade's chest, making him stumble backward a few paces. She brought a claw over the side of his head, and the other paw aimed for his other eye, but Shade parried her strike and managed a kick in her ribcage. She stumbled back, slightly winded, and Shade threw himself into her, raking his claws over her face and chest, splashing his paws and fur with her blood. His breath was coming in fast, raging hisses through his fangs.

The female stumbled back again, "Not bad." she breathed, spitting out clots of blood, "but you'll have to do better!" she declared as she rushed Shade again, this time pulling a fake out, stopping before she made contact with the dark Chao and causing him to swipe empty air. She slid across the ground, knocking his feet out from under him, and sank in her claws.

Shade growled in pain more than fury, and the inner child in him quaked in fear for his life. This stranger, whoever she was, was quite strong. Shade was mostly relying on instinct and reflexes to retaliate to her blows, but it was clear that skill and practice backed up her moves. She was winning, Shade was losing...and he felt his life would be lost along with the fight.

With an explosive final move, he kicked both feet into the attacker's belly, lifting her feet from the ground and throwing her away a few feet. Shade regained his feet, but swayed from blood loss. The red life pooled all around him.

The girl was slow at gaining her own feet, and Shade wondered if his futile resistance had actually counted for something. She put a paw to her shoulder, where a deep wound had been gouged, courtesy of Shade. Suddenly, she and her cohort were surrounded by Shade's lot.

Although not much impressive by first glance, it was clear that provoking Round Two was risky with so many on Shade's side. The two assailants were outnumbered.

The dark blue female sighed huskily and fixed her strange gaze on Shade, "Who are you...?" she hissed, red bubbles forming on her lip and dribbling down her face. Shade met her gaze evenly,

"We'll be on our way now." he growled, avoiding the stranger's question altogether. But despite his comment, he did not move. His scarlet gaze traveled over his team. Blossom was unscathed, as was Memphis while Berry's left arm was bruised and a shallow cut bled on her cheek. Other than that, she looked okay. Shade inconspicuously investigated himself, seeing his bloody, sticky chest fur stuck outward in red-tinted spikes, and his face and back felt masked with the blood that had drawn from his wounds. They burned like fire, and unused to such intense pain, Shade felt like crying his pain away. Curling up and just crying like a younger child. But he had to keep some dignity, so he swallowed his tears.

The female narrowed her eyes, "Tell me your name." she hissed, "Unless I should force it from you?"

Shade also narrowed his eyes, "Why do you need to know? You want to enter my name in a sweepstakes?" he retorted defiantly, "Who are you?"

It was a moment before she answered, "Lunara." she said, "And this is Honey." she waved at her cohort, who shot a death glare at his former opponent Berry. The swimmer Chao barred her teeth in ferocity.

Shade pretended to look unimpressed, "So...is ambushing innocent kids a part-time job of yours or just a hobby? If I were you, I'd stick to marbles and reading Teen Vogue."

Lunara snorted, "Are you just borrowing that sarcasm? Or did someone donate some to a pathetic sap like you?"

"Are you pretending to be scary? Or are you just practicing?" Shade shot back, feeling powerful somehow.

"Are you just acting tough, or have you been getting special lessons?" Lunara snarled, a high pitched tone of anger entering her voice.

"Did you get that comeback at Wal-Mart? At a discount?" Shade hissed, lashing his arrow-pointed tail.

It was Blossom who spoke next, "Why are you two trash-talking each other? Don't we have a mission Shade?" the lavender Chao looked at him, "To escape the void disease?"

Shade winced at his sister's revealance to his name.

Lunara raised a nonexistant eyebrow and smirked, "So Shade..." she mused, "Where ya headed?"

Shade glared at her, "Don't you have some poor, defenseless passerby to disembowel?"

Lunara was about to fire back a retort when her partner Honey laid a paw on her unwounded shoulder, "They're no threat...Lunara." he murmured, "Can't we let 'em go on? They're survivors like us..."

"Shut your trap!" Lunara snapped, "Don't you give anything away!"

"Well shit, Lunara!" Honey growled in exasperation, "We've been fleeing the DVoid for nearly a month now, only having each other for company, and now we've found a whole party of survivors. You want to kill them? We could help each other." he said.

Lunara wrenched her shoulder out of his grip, "I don't need any help, little punk." she growled, "I certainly don't need a bunch of underskilled amatuers to feed and read bedtime stories to everynight! I barely cope with you!"

"Oh here we go." Honey rolled his eyes, "and need I remind you who found who half-drowned in the river and performed CPR for nearly an hour to revive her? I don't know..."

"I told you not to bring that back up, you little bastard!" Lunara roared, "You just..."

By now, Shade and his gang were edging away.

...

Blossom shook her head, "What a couple." she sighed, "tearing on each other like that...it's a wonder how they're...survivors the way they carry on." she mused.

Shade shrugged painfully, feeling the sharp twinge in his shoulder and back as the muscles moved with the shrug. His whole body was throbbing in rhythm and his fur felt matted and sticky with his own life. At times, gray flecks showered his vision, and he was forced to slow for a moment and blink until they dispersed. But now they had come again, this time sweeping weakness over him and making the field around him darken with shadows.

Berry looked at him, "Are you okay Shade?" she asked. Shade sighed, nodding barely. His legs were shaking,

"I just...gotta sit down...for a second..." he said. Blossom turned to him in alarm, and set down Memphis, who stared wide-eyed at the injured Chao. Shade slipped to the ground, a bit too heavily for Blossom's liking, and her conscious pricked in alarm.

Shade tried to remain sitting up, his head bowing forward into his bloodstained paws and his eyes shut tight, trying to ward off the buzzing in his skull and the icy-hot feeling that had consumed his body. Every throb of pain from his wounds seemed ten times worse, and audible...

"Someone get him some water!" Blossom's voice sounded far away...

Shade was breathing erractically, still steadfastly sitting up, trying to abort the faint that his body was trying to send him into. He barred his teeth, and felt someone move close to him. Something cold touched his lips, and he parted them to welcome a rush of cold water down his throat. When the stream ceased, he opened his eyes, and felt the strange contradicting tempature feel vanish. The gray in his vision was gone as well.

To his utter shock, Lunara was standing over him, a wad of soaked moss in one paw. Shade blinked a few more times and a question formed on his tongue. Before he could say it, Lunara held up a finger, eyes narrowed coldly,

"Listen kid." she growled, "Don't say anything. Just know that I will be coming with you."