Disclaimer: Oh boy was last chapter an emotional one. I don't know how many people expected Marshall to get infected, but here we are. Now it's up to Flare and the others to take Slash down and save their friends. And don't worry; Flare has a plan this time. Let's see what she can come up with alongside the rest of the Paw Patrol.

Also, I don't own Paw Patrol.

Paw Patrol X

Demon Defense arc Episode eighteen: Dead Once, Born Again Part One

A slow melody of Show The Wolves Our Courage began playing as Rex's lab was shown right the window to the invention room gave us a look at the inside. Several anti-demon weapons that Rocky, Charm, and Rex made were all over the room. The Holy Water grenades, the Holy Fire bullets for the guns, and the iron blades were all ready for use. The room felt empty however, as the different types of weapons were shown one by one. That is... until Flare kicked the door open with a look on her face that simply screamed determination as the music stopped.

After her good night's sleep, Flare was as ready as ever to save her friends, and the more bombastic and motivational music that played as she prepared showed that. She was already wearing a sash that could hold all of her weapons for her, which she started setting up by getting some Holy Water grenades. After grabbing those, she picked up a pistol and put them into the gun holder of the jacket. She then picked up an iron dagger, gazing at it as something entered her mind that made her start to look conflicted.

Flare started thinking to herself; she was really going to risk killing some of these demons as the music slowed down a bit. These demons were infected wolves, and she was going to have to take their lives. Was she really ready for this? She'd never killed anyone before. She then started thinking about her friends, which made her remember that she couldn't let these thoughts stop her from saving them. The image of her talking to Marshall snapped her back into it with the music going back to normal. She had to save her friends and all from Wolfland she could.

After preparing, Flare ran back into the living room and saw that the others were ready as well. She walked over to Rocky, Charm, and Richie, who she was joining on this mission. They tried to talk her out of it, but there was no stopping Flare when her mind was set on helping those she loved. "Alright. I'm ready. Let's go save our friends."

Snow took Flare's paw, looking at her lovingly as she began speaking. "Before you do Flare, I just wanna say... I'm glad we got together." Flare listened as Snow spoke some more about what she meant. "I didn't know if we'd ever get together. But when you confessed your feelings for me, I felt so elevated that I just wanted to scream with joy." She grasped her paw and told her something she hoped for. "Please. Make it back. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Flare knew it was a huge risk for her turning, since she wasn't immune like Rocky, Charm, and Richie. She wasn't about to reject this promise to Snow however, and smiled lovingly to her as she made it. "Okay. I promise." Flare kissed Snow passionately, showing that she was now fighting for her more than she would've before. Charm observed this and Rocky could tell in his eyes that he was now fighting for something more as well. Before, it was for his own desires. But now, he was also fighting to help Flare and Rocky save the ones they love.

Everest put a paw on Snow's shoulder, knowing that there was a lot Flare and the others had to do. "We'll protect Foxcadia the best we can from Slash if he attacks."

"Be careful out there guys." Skye reminded the others, and then she turned to Flare specifically. "Especially you Flare. They can avoid turning. You can't." Skye then spoke up about something she desired more than anything to come out of this. "And I want all of our friends to make it out alive, but please make sure Chase makes it out with you. I can't bare the thought of losing him."

Flare nodded in response with Claw then speaking up as he glared at Charm. "Not being immune isn't the only thing Flare will have to worry about Skye."

Charm glared back at Claw with Rubble hugging Rocky. This made Rocky smile, as it showed that Rubble was now okay with showing him affection. "Don't you die on me Rocky." Rubble then pulled Rocky away as he finished. "I didn't let you convince me to eat Flare's cooking two months ago just for you to die two months later."

Rocky nodded in response with a determined smile as Tracker then chimed in with his own two cents. "Si! And we still have a lot of my father's journeys I want to share with you and Rubble!"

Rocky laughed a bit in response, being more than happy to hear those tales. "Hopefully we can meet Aaron in person one day too." Rubble and Tracker looked at each other with smiles, showing that they loved the sound of that.

Charm then stood up, ignoring Claw's gaze as he looked to the others. "Now then. If everyone's ready, let's save your friends, and stop Slash once and for all!"

"Thanks to that base layout you showed us, we are." Richie stated in response, and then he shook Ryder's hand before the leader spoke up.

"Best of luck out there guys. I wish I could come, but ya know. We can't risk the leader of the Paw Patrol going full demon." Ryder explained, and Richie nodded in understanding just like the others did. Flare then set out with Rocky, Charm, and Richie, all four of them being ready for whatever they had to do in order to stop Slash, and save the turned pups, along with any wolves they could turn back.

Flare and the others were making their way to Charm's base with Flare tugging Charm's paw to get his attention before speaking up. She wanted to address something that might've been on his mind since yesterday. "I'm sorry Marshall and I read your journal. We only did it because we thought the journal floating into our room was a sign that we had to read what was in it."

"Weird thing to be apologizing for right now, but thanks." Charm responded, admitting that he might've preferred if he hadn't for different reasons. "Although, if you hadn't read it, perhaps Marshall wouldn't have turned." Charm clenched his fist as he took another jab at his demon blood. "Just another tragedy my demon blood caused."

Flare then made it clear that she didn't want Charm blaming himself, or something about him, for her call. "That was my call. Not yours. And I did it because I want to help you." Charm was touched by that, and Flare had more to say. "The fact that you were injected at birth; it just... it's the most wrong thing I've ever heard in my life. You were born with every right to a real childhood, and a loving family. And Slash took both of those away from you. What you did in the past was terrible, but I'm not gonna overlook your right to defy your demon blood."

Charm was grateful for Flare's decree, but having recaptured the feeling of remorse earlier that week, it was clear he couldn't express it as clearly. Mostly because the thoughts on what he did before came back once again. "It's amazing you can think that way."

"And you wanting to change is the biggest reason I can." Flare informed Charm, making it clear that his efforts were a big part of why she was helping him. Flare then surprised Charm by pointing out that she was grateful for him gaining more reason to fight. "And Snow told me what you told her and Everest last night. I won't say we're friends yet for, obvious reasons, but it's a start. Maybe after we save our friends, our next step can be helping you improve your empathy."

Charm laughed a bit, giving Flare a blunt, but well meaning warning regarding her compassion. "That kindness is going to get you killed one day Flare."

"Hey. If it does, at least I'm not dying bitter." Flare joked, leaving Charm to smile at just how optimistic she was. Rocky was glad to see the two of them having a somewhat friendly chat. It would take some time, but it further proved to Rocky that Charm making real friends was possible.

Flare and the others then arrived at the base and made sure to stay out of sight while observing it from afar. As they were doing this, Charm made another attempt to comfort someone through Richie, knowing that the demons wouldn't hear them from where they were. "So. My father really experimented on you?" Richie nodded his head yes, leading to Charm making a well meaning, but not very well orchestrated mode of comfort. "If it were anyone but Slash, I'd be honored to be in your position, at least with them thinking I'm worthy of major tests."

"That's fair. I'd prefer not to be experimented on at all though." Richie responded, managing to avoid lashing out from his trauma, since he knew Charm was trying to help him feel better.

Charm decided to move on from this for now and reminded the group of what they had to do. "Okay. So the basement is crawling with demons, but it's also the easiest way to get in without setting off the alarms. Reason being is..." Charm then pointed over to a truck that was heading up the path slowly. The others looked at him with confusion before he brought up why the truck was coming. "What? I have to get my monthly supplies somehow." Charm tried thinking of a way to get into the truck after that. "We just have to find out how to get in."

Flare noticed that the truck driver was a human and panicked, rushing in and alerting the others before she threw a rock at the truck. It hit the side, and the truck driver saw Flare running up to him with a worried face. He stopped and let Flare climb up to see what she had to say. "Are you okay kid? It's dangerous to be out here by yourself."

"Not for the Paw Patrol." Flare signaled Rocky, Charm, and Richie to come on over, which they did, thanks to the demons not being close enough to hear them. Flare then got back to warning the driver about what he was driving into. "Listen dude. The guy you're delivering whatever is in your truck to is the owner of a massive demon army. If you go in there, you're gonna get infected, and probably not come back."

The driver didn't see any reason not to believe Flare. After all, like most people on the planet, he was well aware of who the Paw Patrol were. "You said you were with the Paw Patrol, right?" Flare nodded her head yes, leading to the driver wondering what the pup had in mind. "I appreciate the warning kid, but you guys could get infected too if you go in there. And I can't just give you my truck; it's my ride out of here." Flare looked to Richie, who nodded as he took out a key of sorts.

The driver was then shown heading off in a red car with Richie now having the wheel of the truck. Flare, Rocky, and Charm had their paws behind their backs while leaning on the wall as Rocky spoke up. "Safe entrance, acquired." The back then closed by itself, leading to Richie starting the drive into the base. Luckily, Flare, Rocky, and Charm were in a truck that had clear air, was soundproof on the inside, and had no windows for them to get spotted through.

Richie drove up to the garage of the base and went inside after the door open, which led to him seeing all of the demons that covered both sides against the middle. Flare, Rocky, and Charm could hear the demons from the outside. Good thing none of the demons could hear them. As they were heading in, Flare was thinking about something she felt she should get off her chest. "You guys aren't upset that I haven't told you what I learned about myself, are you?"

Rocky was quick to address this, knowing why Flare was refraining from telling him and the others right away. "Of course not. You said it yourself. You feel everyone should hear it at the same time." Rocky smiled as he showed compassion to Flare in regards to her decision. "I bet this was also a big revelation for you too. You're probably still thinking about what exactly you're gonna say about it."

"Hehe. Yeah." Flare admitted while scratching the back of her head. She then stopped as she told Rocky how relieved she was when she found out. "The weight lifted off of my shoulders when I discovered it though. It was huge! It felt like I was reborn in a different version of the same body." Flare then realized something and brought it into the conversation so Charm and Rocky could talk about their burdens too. "It's something I hope you guys feel soon too."

Rocky knew Charm still had a lot to work on, but he managed to overcome his own burden thanks to him. "I actually already have Flare." Flare and Charm listened closely as Rocky brought up what led to his burden being lifted. "After I heard from Charm what Slash did to him after his birth, I realized how irrational I was about fearing becoming like Slash." Rocky then admitted something else as his expression changed. "And as glad as I am that I could help Charm... I also realized how much I was hurting myself with how long I thought about finding the truth."

Charm put a paw on his shoulder as he pointed out something about his disability. "Isn't a big part of being Autistic struggling to let certain things that are important to you leave your mind?"

"Yes, but I want to at least try to work on that." Rocky informed Charm, and then he got a text from Richie and looked at his phone. It told him that he was nearing the inside of the base, and Rocky informed the others when he saw it. "We're almost there guys. Get ready to jump out." Flare and Charm nodded in response, prepping themselves along with Rocky to take on their most dangerous mission yet.

Richie managed to conceal the back of the garage in a big empty room, allowing Flare, Rocky, and Charm to jump out safely after opening the back door of the truck. Once they hopped out, Richie jumped out of the truck and went into the room as quickly as possible after seeing there were no demons around. Once he did, he walked up to the others to see if they remembered the plan. "Okay guys. We're in. You remember the plan?"

"Find out the name of the demons who infected Chase and Zuma..." Flare started off, allowing the others to do the rest.

"Then take out those demons while saving as many Wolfland citizens as possible..." Rocky continued, letting Charm finish it off.

Charm started to get intense with his part however. "And then we find Slash and let me choke him to death with my own two-"

"Okay, let's save that for when it comes up." Richie advised Charm, knowing that his desire to kill Slash could get in the way. Charm composed himself well enough to let Richie continue by checking in with Charm on the layout of the base. "Now Charm. You said the list of infected demons should be in the archives. Are you sure that's right next to the weapon crafting room?"

"I remember this place like the back of my paw Richie." Charm reminded Richie, starting to get impatient again as he looked around for a way to sneak in. "We obviously can't just casually walk into the room and expect Slash to ignore us. There should be a vent in here somewhere."

Rocky quickly noticed the vent and pointed up to it to get everyone else's attention. "You mean that one right there?"

Charm looked at the vent along with Flare and Richie, being satisfied with how little time that took. "Yes I do! Well done Rocky."

Flare instantly knew how to open it up, taking out a quarter and looking to Richie. "Richie. Give me a boost up there." Richie nodded and ran over to the vent with Flare, giving her a boost that allowed her to successfully grab onto the vent.

Flare started unscrewing the vent screws with Rocky reminding Charm that they had to keep their cool while they were here. "Believe me Charm, I wanna kill Slash just as badly as you do. But we can't get worked up over it."

"I know, I know." Charm informed Rocky with annoyance, wishing he could speed this up in a way that didn't get anyone hurt. "I just find it hard to be patient."

"Trust me. As soon as we get a chance that doesn't get any of us hurt, we're going in." Rocky assured Charm, who smiled at the sight of him trying to help him feel better.

Flare finished unscrewing the vent and jumped down to Richie, who caught her and boosted her up again to let her climb in first. "I got it open guys! Let's do this!" Rocky and Charm gave each other a thumbs up before running over to the vent; Charm climbing in first, and then Rocky. Richie climbed in last, knowing that the four had to stick together as much as possible for the mission. Little did the crew know however, that Slash was watching them over the cameras with his usual sadistic and confident grin. He was already prepared to play around with any of them.

Flare and the others arrived at the archive room with Flare trying to think of a way to get through, which Charm took as an opportunity to cut in front of her for. After turning around however, it was made clear that his method was quite loud; as he literally double kicked the the vent open. After it clanked to the ground, Charm slid down with Rocky being quick to point out how reckless that was. "Try not to wake up the entire demon army while we're at it."

"You wanna wake em up? Fetch me some Mexican food." Charm suggested with a sly grin, and Rocky gagged at the idea with Charm getting to work by searching for the drawer that would have the exact files they need. "Now, look around for a file that sounds like it has information on infected demons. Any name that sounds like it should be beneficial."

Flare, Rocky, and Richie got to work, and Flare noticed just how many drawers there were in the room. "Wow. You really have a lot of knowledge in here Charm."

"One must be prepared for anything possible." Charm informed Flare, kneeling down to a file that said 'The Demons from Wolfland'. "I think Slash's new files alone show that I still have a ways to go."

Richie found a file that said 'Dogs that became demons', opening it up and finding Paleclaw on the front. The words next to Paleclaw intrigued Richie, and what he said got the pups' attention. "Star infected demon, huh?" Flare, Rocky, and Charm went over to Richie, who knelt down to their level and showed them what he found. "Look at this. 'Paleclaw has proven to be more than useful to me as a demon. They haven't just gotten me the most infected demons out of every other demon I have, but even two members of the Paw Patrol!' This must be it."

Flare tried to shake off her mission of taking out Paleclaw for now, deciding to see if there was a way to save them as well. "Does it say the name of the demon who infected Paleclaw?"

Richie read all of the details on Paleclaw thoroughly, but sadly, he found nothing on the demon who infected them. "Nope. Nothing. He must've known we'd try that first." Richie then turned the page and saw the second most renowned demon in the ranks. It was a demon named Dora, and the description she had was exactly what the others needed. "One Paw Patrol member? That means Chase! Now we just need the demon who infected Rex."

Charm looked through his file to find proof, only for Rocky to notice a drawer that said 'Handicapped Demons'. He went over to it and opened it up, turning to find that it only had one page so far. "With this little info..." Rocky saw that the picture was in fact of a demon with Rex's name on it's chest. This was it. This was the last demon they needed. "This is it guys! Rex's demon! Apparently, he was infected by a demon named Christian."

Richie moved to a page that had a demon of the same name in a less popular, but still knowledgeable page for them to work off of. "Yep. Rex's file in here says that too." Flare and the others knew what they had to do now. Their next step was to find the demons who infected their friends, as well as the demons their friends became so they could find them after turning them back. That wouldn't be easy though, as proven by what Richie said next. "It looks like they were all caged up in different rooms."

"Then we'll just have to find them one by one, as well as taking out the demons who infected them." Flare responded, being more than ready to do whatever she had to in order to save her friends.

Charm put a paw on Flare's shoulder before handing her a card with a demon and a slow clock on it. "Then you'll need this." Flare, Rocky, and Richie observed the card as Charm explained where he got it from. "Richie and I took out Trickery during the Wolfland attack. I have what remains of his deck on me right now."

Flare accepted the card with Rocky instantly catching onto what he was suggesting. "Charm, we can't split up! Flare isn't immune like the rest of us!"

"That's what the card is for genius." Charm informed Rocky, explaining what the card did as Flare looked at the invisibility charm on her pup suit. "It'll slow down any infection Flare receives, doubling the time it takes for him to get infected."

Flare took off her invisibility charm and handed it to Charm, surprising him as she added her own suggestion to the mix. "In that case, you'll need this, since I'm sticking to the vents." Charm put the invisibility charm on with Flare telling him how to activate it. "Just press the middle, and you'll be good to go."

Charm nodded in response to that with Richie pointing out what Flare had to do if she got caught. "Remember Flare. If you get caught, and you can't reach your knife or gun in time, use a holy water grenade. It's closer to your paw, and it's as easy to take off as a smoke bomb."

"Got it." Flare then jumped up to the vents, her determination soothing as she told the others what they had to do. "Rocky, Charm, you go right. Richie, you take the left. We're getting our friends, and the citizens of Wolfland back." The others gave Flare a thumbs up as she climbed up into the vents, knowing that she should only exit them when she absolutely had to. As for the others, they turned on their invisibility charms and left the archive room to find where their friends were being held captive.

Richie was looking around for the room his demon turned friends were in, having his invisibility charm on to conserve his new power. He wished he was having better luck, but Charm's base was so big that he could be there all day. Good thing he was on the left side of the base as Flare suggested. There were a lot of demons here, so he'd be able to find the demons who infected his friends a lot more easily. 'Okay. Christian, and Dora. If I can get at least one of them, I'll be a step closer.'

Richie kept looking on the chests of all the demons, but wasn't having much luck finding the right ones. It was clear that Slash managed to get a lot of infected wolves into his demon army. 'I sure have a lot of demons to look at. At least Tracker didn't have to lose his mother to something like this.' He kept searching until he found the demon of Rex after looking at his chest. Realizing he would be re-infected if he got exposed, he knew what he had to do. 'Rex! I can't reverse his infection with him out here! I have to keep him safe from the other demons.'

Richie snuck up behind Rex, sticking his palm into his back and forcing him to stop for a bit. He then walked with him while moving forward, sighing of relief silently in response to his heritage. 'Thank you demon training.' Richie led Rex to a room that looked empty after he looked into it from the nearby window. He opened it up and went in there with Rex. Since the demons were mostly feral, he didn't have to worry about them questioning this for long.

Richie then karate chopped Rex's neck hard enough to knock him out. Good thing he was in his demonic state for that. If he did it that hard to him as a puppy, he probably would've landed him into a coma. He then took out some of the holy fire he placed into a capsule, knowing that it wouldn't burn the building if he didn't intend to. He surrounded Rex with the holy fire in a circle. Since Richie knew the fire wouldn't hurt Rex even after his infection, he went back to his mission. 'Don't worry Rex. I'll come back for you after I find and kill Christian.'

Richie then went into the vents again, knowing the demons would notice if he went out there without a demon. He then made his way for the emptiest room in the building while also hoping he could find the other demons quickly.

Rocky and Charm were searching their own part of the base with Rocky quietly informing Charm about how impressed he was with the size of it. "The size of this base is remarkable Charm. Your soldiers must have worked exceptionally hard to put this all together."

"That, they did. That, they, did." Charm responded, glad that he and Rocky were having this talk without any demons around. He then chuckled a bit before realizing a flaw that could've occurred in their plan. "You think Slash spotted us on the cameras yet?"

Rocky started to think about that, and figured it couldn't be left out of the question. "If he did, then we should be prepared for a surprise attack. Even though you said you disabled the cameras right before you set out to Wolfland, we can't take him putting them back online off the table." Charm nodded in agreement, as that's exactly why he asked. The two then wondered why there weren't any demons in this part of the lair. "And we also can't say if the lack of demons on our end is a good thing, or a bad thing."

Charm noticed the battle arena door and got an idea as to where the rest of the demons would be. "He probably expects one of us to end up in there. Even with our training, he clearly thinks too little of our common sense."

Rocky chuckled a bit in response, only for the walls to go up in front of them as soon as they tried to move on from the arena, stunning them both. "What the heck was that!?"

Slash then laughed over the intercoms directly into the room Rocky and Charm were in as Charm realized what happened after the two turned off their invisibility charms. "He DID repair the cameras!"

"Brilliant observation Charm! I knew I chose to infect you for good reason!" Slash stated tauntingly, leaving Charm to growl in anger with Rocky attempting to calm him down. "Now I could simply sit in this comfy chair and watch you two wander around the base like idiots for your friends' demons, but I have something else in mind. And it involves a little more... violence." Slash then opened up the door to the battle arena as he smirked while speaking again on the intercom. "Before you ask, the only other choice is me killing you with poisonous gas."

Rocky and Charm entered the room with Rocky wondering why Charm had a room like this at all. "Why did you add an arena in your base anyway?"

"I wanted to prepare for if I felt like using one, okay?" Charm responded as he and Rocky stepped into the elevator that led to the arena. This led to Charm getting bored once the elevator music started playing, and Rocky started to worry about what Slash had planned for them. Charm decided to lighten up the mood a little, smirking to Rocky, who became alerted right before Charm pointed his butt out and released...

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT

...a ripe and noxious ten second fart that made the Golden Retriever's butt vibrate as it covered the elevator unleashing a yellow cloud of rotten eggs. Rocky started coughing and gagging from the fart, which Charm wafted away with his paw and tail as Rocky called him out while doing the same with his own paw. "Come on Charm! I know we fart at least once during our base infiltrations, but this is serious!" Charm snickered a bit, making it clear that his mischievous trait was back thanks to Flare and Rocky giving him hope.

Flare was still in the vents, thinking about how scary it must be for her friends, and everyone else who turned, to be an infected demon. Since she didn't have to deal with any demons directly, her not being immune wasn't an issue right now. She knew she couldn't stay in the vents forever however. She had to find out where some of the demons were so she could check their chests for names. She then noticed a room with something that intrigued her. It was Break and Pound, who Flare had never met before, but was surprised to see they were still normal dogs.

Flare knew she couldn't sneak in discreetly in the vents, but then she noticed that the one she was looking out of was loose. That must've been from one of the demons that were also in the room. Flare pushed the vent gently, hiding as quickly as she could before it fell to the ground. Break and Pound then walked over to the vent with Break commenting on it's condition. "Man, I told Slash we should've fixed this vent."

"Well whatya expect? After the message of intruders, he probably didn't have the time." Pound pointed out, feeling this would be fixed later on. "He might-"

Just then, Flare jumped out of the vent and jumped onto Break as he was picking up the vent. She took his gun before then tackling Pound before he could take out his own. After throwing both guns to the side, she started talking, and her tone proved she wasn't playing. "Speak up buddy! Almost every creature in this building is a demon! Why aren't you!?" Break was about to move, only for Flare to take her gun out and aim it at him while pinning Pound to the ground with her paw. "Talk."

"Slash kept some of us around so he could learn the layout of the base!" Pound blurted out, fearing for his life as he then confessed to something else. "I didn't even wanna work for him! He treats us way worse than Charm did; at least Charm wanted to keep us away from these things!" Flare found that little tidbit interesting, feeling that Charm would like to know some of his soldiers did value him. "I could never respect Slash after learning what he did! What kind of monster injects a baby with demon blood!"

Break sighed of relief with Flare getting off of Pound as the other Pit Bull spoke up. "Thank Goodness. I hated working for Slash too! We were just too scared to say anything until now!"

Pound walked over to Break, deciding to finally enact on an idea they've been planning for the past month now. "Let's find Charm after we get out of here! He has to know that some of us believe in him!"

"Just like me." Flare revealed with a smile, glad that Break and Pound were willing to let Charm change too. She could tell that Break and Pound weren't bad guys; they were just in the wrong line of work. However, the three failed to realize Slash watching over them as Flare spoke some more. "I'm glad we're on the same page about this, but I need your help; both for my friends, and Charm. Do you know where I can find Paleclaw?" Slash pressed a button then and there to stop Flare in her tracks.

Break and Pound were happy to help as the former started bringing up Paleclaw's location. "Anything for Charm. Paleclaw's with some of the infected demons in-" Just then, one of the caged demons broke out and alerted the three. Flare acted on her protective instinct once again, only for the demon to slash at her. She tried to dodge it, but she was too late, and got slashed on the side of her head as the demon aimed at her neck, also destroying the daisy in her ear. She got sent through the door thanks to that, getting back up and kicking back a demon who stood near her.

Flare rushed back into the room to help Break and Pound, but she was too late to take her gun out, as the demon stabbed the Pit Bulls in the chest as soon as she came back in! The sight of it shocked Flare, as any death would, but she quickly shook it off to get back to her mission. She aimed a gun at the demon, who she noticed the name of as 'Dora', just like the demon who infected Chase. Sadly, as soon as she fired, she missed due to the demon teleporting away just like the others before.

This started to frustrate Flare, who had to deal with demons teleporting as soon as they infect someone for a while now. "Do they have to do that every time they infect or kill someone!? Why not actually fight instead of running away from-" Just then, Flare heard Break coughing. Amazed that he was still alive, Flare ran over to him after using the card Charm gave her on herself to see if he could finish telling her where Paleclaw is. "I'm sorry about this. I can avenge your deaths. I just have to know where Paleclaw is."

Break grabbed Flare's chest, speaking up the best he could for his last breath. "They're... find..." He coughed up some blood before finishing what he had to say. It was vague, but Flare got a good idea on what she was supposed to do with it. "Weapons..." Break then passed on along with Pound, and Flare took the time to give them a peaceful farewell. She closed both of their eyes, adding avenging the deaths of two good canines who were in the wrong line of work to her list.

Just then, the demon Flare kicked back burst into the room, startling her before she turned back. The demon dashed up to Flare, who reached for her holy water grenade, only to notice that the demon wasn't attacking her. Instead the demon, sniffed her. It had no interest in acting violent. After seeing the name, Amanda, Flare saw no interest in killing the demon. She knew it would risk the chance of some wolves going back to normal and getting infected again. So Flare decided to let the demon wander off to find someone who wasn't infected to attack.

Flare touched the scratch she got on her head from that demon and looked at the bit of blood she got from it. She let the blood drip down her paw for a bit before realizing that as long as she was infected, the demons wouldn't be a threat to her. She knew her training had her prepared to go through the demons in this state. After realizing the benefit she could use to her advantage, her determination rose to max level. She clenched her fist and looked forward while smiling with clear determination. She now had six hours thanks to the card.

It was time to make it count.

To be continued.

A black screen was shown with the title of the next chapter appearing on it as Flare said the name. "Next time, Dead Once, Born Again, Part Two!"