"We will...Rebuild...We will get...Revenge..." Xenia muttered, as members of the Dingo Squad helped bandage up her wounds. "We will, great Xenia. But first, you must heal."

Xenia groaned at the prospect of having to wait that long. She'd had that canary in her CLUTCHES, she had been so CLOSE! But they'd slipped away...Her chances at finding her brother were even slimmer now than when she had started!

But her train of thought was interrupted by the clapping of...Mechanical hands? She turned to face the source, a cyborg bird of some kind, wearing a helmet. He had on a support suit similar to Cyber's, but much more refined. At his side, a mustard-yellow wolf with a strange sword on his back stood patiently...And nervously.

"Bravo, dear Xenia. You REALLY made a mess of things, didn't you?" The mechanical figure said in a mocking tone. Xenia struggled to her feet past the pain and readied her blade. "Who are you, strangers? How did you find this place?"

"He's Edge," The mechanical figure said, pointing to his companion. "And my name is...Not important right now. But what IS important, is our mutual interest: ECS-001."

Xenia looked at him, puzzled. He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine, CYBER! You need to stay away from her, or any OTHER ECS Unit, for that matter!"

"Cyber will be left alone when I personally pull her circuitry out, bit by bit, to sell on the black market. It's the LEAST I can do after what her Restoration has done to my family!" Xenia stated, gripping her blade tightly.

"Mmm, yes, that. Let me set you straight on some things real quick." The mechanical figure replied, before retrieving a small stick from behind his back. "I picked this up in a forest on our way here. NOW! Imagine this stick is your father..." He took the stick in both hands, and then snapped it in half. "And this is what I did to him."

"YOU...You are the one that-?"

"He was warned not to get in my way, and he didn't listen. For that, he paid the price. Just simple business, really." The figure said, throwing the two halves of the stick over his shoulder. "I now give you the same ultimatum. I'd advise AGAINST following your father's example in this scenario."

With a simple hand motion from Xenia, all Dingo Squad members had their Wispons trained on the figure and his companion. "You come in here, admit to the murder of my father, the former leader of this very squadron...And you seek to make DEMANDS of me!?" Xenia hissed, pointing her sword at the figure's throat. He seemed oddly unphased.

"Well...There IS still that matter of your brother."

The sound in the room seemed to deaden as the strange, halted gait of another could be heard approaching. Everyone fixed their gaze upon the source as another dingo of similar coloration to Xenia stumbled in.

"XAVIER!" Xenia yelled, holstering her blade and rushing to her brother's side. At first, she was elated to see him again...Until she noted his state. His mouth was hung agape, drooling. His eyes lacked their usual intelligence, and his entire body was hunched over, as if in constant pain. She looked at his forehead, where a metal plate with a red light was planted firmly into his skull. His left hand was gone, replaced with the familiar sight of their father's Drill Wispon. "Brother...What has happened to you?"

"Do you like it? The Drill, I mean." The mechanical figure butted in. "Yes, I figured it'd be a good way to honor your dearly departed dad. But, of course, I couldn't have THAT kind of power running around unchecked, so I made some...Further modifications to your brother." He motioned to the implant on Xavier's head as he said the last words.

"RELEASE HIM FROM THIS STATE AT ONCE!" Xenia roared as her blade once again raised to the figure's throat. "Hmm...How about...No? And if you choose to end my life anyway..." He closed his fist, and Xavier's implant began sparking. The young dingo held onto his head, falling to his knees in pain before it stopped. "Too much of that, and he's dead. Got me?"

Xenia knelt down to her brother's side, briefly comforting him as best as she could. "And if we agree to your terms...He will remain alive?"

"If you could consider being trapped in a living nightmare as, 'alive,' then most certainly! Barring circumstances outside of my control, of course."

Xenia looked at her brother, his mindset currently more resembling a scared puppy than the strong young man she had known. Looking at him now, one would assume that brother was gone now, surgically removed by the madman that now stood next to her...But if there was even the vaguest chance that he was still in there...

"Fine. You win. The ECS Units are yours."

"GOOD! Now, I'll just be getting out of your hair! Come along, underlings!" The mechanical figure said, motioning for Xavier and Edge to follow. The former did so immediately, ignoring his pain to obey like a dog, but the wolf decided to stick around for a moment, locking eyes with Xenia. "I'll take care of him. Best I can." He whispered to her, the tone of his voice indicating that he was equally afraid for his own life as she was for Xavier's. She silently nodded her thanks before he dashed off, and she was just left sitting there.

She was Xenia, daughter of the Alpha Dingo, leader of the Dingo Squad...

Yet here, she was powerless.

TO BE CONTINUED IN WOLF 6 SEASON 2