Chapter 8 – Swords

He could hear the laugh of his enemy echoing everywhere; Dark Bolt's menacing giggle irritated his ears as he looked around for the dog. He couldn't be that hard to find could he? The fiend was covered in black fur, and the area he was in had very little lightning at all, though even he had trouble finding were the light was coming from. It was different than where they usually retreated to, the large gouged door was nowhere to be found, instead it was more like a graveyard with all the tombstones that rose up from the ground, and the thick heavy fog that hugged the ground. Some of the stones weren't even shaped like tombstones, most were like…nah, it was all in his imagination, there's no were in his mind that could look remotely like a ruined castle. "I feel so…" he heard Dark Bolt say, "…so much like royalty!" Bolt searched around again, finding the graveyard change, the walls of monasteries and crypts still standing everywhere as he neared the largest of the Tombstones. "Ah Bolt, so wonderful of you to come to my…" he heard Dark Bolt say as the fog began to lift, "…coronation!" The fog revealed instead of a tombstone, it was a crimson throne, one made of bones and blood. The blood flowed from the top parts of the chair, two skulls on each side of it were tilted down as if bowing, and out from the eyes and lower jaws, flowed a river of blood that hit several other skulls and spread out, surrounding the throne and flowing back into the bones. "What?" Bolt exclaimed as he looked to his dark side. Dark Bolt now had a set of armor all his own, scales moving down his chest as the hips and legs became plated like armor with small hooked claw looking blades attached to the back of all four of his legs . Something that resembled a shield extended and attached to his shoulders and the helmet looked as if it were trying to make him look like a dragon with two large horns near the ears that curved out and shot forward and four smaller horns underneath that pulled back. The armor was colored that of crimson while the cape on his back and horns on his helmet faded into a midnight black. On the forehead of his helmet sat three jewels similar to that of Bolt's, one blue, one yellow and one red.

"Welcome to MY kingdom!" Dark Bolt announced, and the fog disappeared, revealing not a graveyard, but the ruins of a castle. Bolt looked around in shock as the grey stone walls emerged from the thick fog. "Where are we?" Bolt asked in surprise. "This is my world Bolt!" Dark Bolt said as he stood up from his throne, "This is my birth place, that little part of you that still hunts in the shadows of the night!"

Bolt crouched down, letting whatever ferocity he could find enter into his soul. Dark Bolt reached the bottom of the stairs, a red carpet becoming revealed from nowhere that traveled underneath Bolt and extended out to infinity. Dark Bolt opened his mouth, a green light shining fourth as he did. Bolt looked back at him, and with only a second to think, disappeared as the green flames spread fourth from his dark side's mouth. Dark Bolt quickly shut his mouth, stopping the stream of fire to lift himself up to his hind legs. He spun around, and threw one of his paws like a fist. It seemed like he was punching at nothing, but somehow, Bolt appeared with the armor covered paw of his opponent in his cheek as the connection took place. He quickly found himself flying away not under his own influence, his cheek throbbing with pain as the bruise began to form. "And that's not all I can do!" Dark Bolt announced as he watched his adversary fall to the ground. He pointed his horns like a sight, letting a ball of light quickly build up between the tips, and launch off, striking Bolt in the chest again, "Magic! Such a wonderful talent!" he said gleefully. Bolt slowly rose up to his paws, grunting as if he were struggling to stand, "And to think!" Dark Bolt said as he shut his eyes proudly, "I never even left my…GOOF!" He never got to finish, instead he was struck by a large blast of fire, tossing him back into the back of the bone seat only to flop onto his blood red cushion. He opened his eyes as he looked up, seeing Bolt stand there, not even a sweat broken or loss of breath, "It was a mistake luring me in here!" he said, catching Dark Bolt's attention, "Because in here, there's no innocent souls to accidently hurt, no one that can get in between us when we fight, no one for you to use as a shield. No reason to pull my punches!" Bolt looked up, the eyes of determination etched on his face as if carved from stone, "In here, I don't have to hold back!"

As soon as he stopped talking the ground around him began to shake, the stones lifting from the ground and shattering at about eye level. Then it was like he burst into flames, a golden aura erupting from the armor that surrounded him, encasing him in light. Dark Bolt looked on in shock just as Bolt himself lunged at him, curling his head down to smash into his chest, smashing Dark Bolt through the back of his skeletal throne. Bolt touched down as he let his darker half continue on, the back dog feeling the strike as he went. Dark Bolt quickly regained his composure, and turned in mid air, using magic to stop himself as he floated there. He growled angrily at his light half, the surprise of power unwelcomed to him, "I can see this is going to take longer than anticipated!" he said, and raced forward, slamming into the ground and caving it in, making a small crater where he stood. Bolt glared at him, unimpressed by the power his other half had displayed. "Holding back huh?" he asked, and turned his head to his side. He pulled it away, as if drawing a blade from a scabbard on his hip. The black lightning that came from his teeth stretched and shaped itself, changing from energy to a physical object, a knight's broadsword with a black blade etched with crimson. The hilt merging with the trim as a blood red hand guard and silver decorating the handle topped with a blood ruby. On the blade, etched in the red of blood, was a lightning bolt, just like the mark on both of their sides. Bolt looked as if he was still unimpressed, yet his eyebrow lifted to indicate curiosity. Instead of a show like his other half, he closed his eyes, letting the light shine from his mouth and shape itself, just like the black lightning had done. In his mouth sat a similar blade, identical in design, yet different in colors, where the black blade was for Dark Bolt, his had a blade made from pure white metal, with a black lightning Bolt instead of a crimson. The hilt and trim were decorated with gold rather than the blood of others, and light blue handle was topped with a magnificent white diamond. Dark Bolt growled again, and then smiled, 'This is going to be fun!' he thought, and rushed in.

The two swords clashed hard, sparks erupting from the blades, each canine pushing as hard as they could against the other, fighting to gain some sort of advantage. Bolt then ducked, letting his opponent's blade soar over him as he pulled his blade down. He quickly rolled as he jumped slightly, spinning in air to clash again with his opponent's sword. Bolt jumped back as Dark Bolt swung harder, hoping to cut the hero in half. The tip of the dark blade scratched against Bolt's armored chest, and in a great form of reaction, curled into a ball. The spiked on his back and helmet spread out, making him look as if he were covered in razor sharp blades. Somehow, maybe by magic, Bolt began to spin, gathering speed as he scrapped the ground. Within seconds, Bolt had enough speed to blur his blades into a single outer ring, and raced forward, smashing into dark Bolt as the black shepherd tried to use his sword as a shield. The two of them could hear it as the metal from Bolt's spikes slid across the blade, the grinding noise of a saw against a metal object ringing in their ears as the white shepherd continued to spin. Dark Bolt then tipped back, pushing the spinning Bolt over him as he crashed down to his back. Bolt traveled for a small distance before he uncurled and landed on his feet, turning in the direction of his darker half as he came to a skidding halt.

Dark Bolt turned to his paws, and raced forward, crashing his sword into Bolt's. The two of them released quickly, Dark Bolt lowering his head as Bolt lifted his up, and again the two blades collided, the sparks lighting up like fireworks as metal slid against metal. The two of them spun around, again letting the blades clash together.

It was as if they could read the thoughts of the other, they both flipped the swords around in their mouths, both opening their jaws and using their tongues to turn the blade in a half circle, just so they could come back and clash again. They pushed against each other again, trying to gain some kind of ground that the other would give. They both backed up again, Bolt going onto his spin upon landing and charged at Dark Bolt. The black dog instead lifted his paws, turning his armor out so that the spikes on Bolt's back came instead in contact with the blades on his legs. The few seconds they stayed like that was enough, Bolt ricocheted away, uncurling to find the spikes on his back broken and dulled. Dark Bolt looked to his leg blades, finding one of them simply hanging there by a thin piece of metal and the other falling off as he moved his paws.

The two of them turned to each other, glaring death from their eyes as they silently agreed on one thing, to end the fight with just one more strike. Whoever came out alive, would win the body they both wanted so badly.

Dark Bolt set his paws back on the ground, squatting down into a pounce while Bolt mirrored him. As if they heard silence, the two of them waited, until they heard the sound of a gunshot, the blast inside their heads as they raced towards each other, and jumped. They collided, the sound of metal slicing through armor sounded like a bell through the silent space. Dark Bolt was the first to land on his paws, but Bolt slammed down to his side shortly after, a small trail of his own blood raining down at a small distance behind him.

End Chapter 8