Chapter VII: Allies and Adversaries


Night and Omega were making good progress, even while treading lightly and under the cover of the bushes, shadows and tree trunks, it would seem that they were not detected, why even Omega had deactivated his lights and his flame-like tail had been extinguished to which made Omega seem rather dull and common to contrast his after-glowing radiance which made him seem warm and inviting and wonderfully soothing when Night was around him. This dim Omega appeared to be like one of her students with his petite stature who’s only distinction was in his face that portrayed a sense of confidence, wisdom, and strength, something she had since envied of him as he lead on.
However, even with their assurances entrusted to their discretion, someone had taken notice of them. Fang had been in a grove of trees, watching everything, frightened of being found himself by either party knowing he would have to take factions with one or another with either outcome he feared he would find uneasy to live with.
To his misfortune however as he tried to readjust himself, he tripped over a tree root, causing him to lose his balance and sent him tumbling down the hill where he came directly in front of Omega and Night to which they paused with the unexpected surveyor. It didn’t have to be said of the despair Fang had sunk into in his blundering that lead to his discovery. He may as well have served himself on a silver platter.
“Don’t worry Night; I’ll take care of him.” Omega said as he was poised to execute the hapless sentry before he could squeal their location.
“No, no wait, please! It’s me...It’s me! Please don’t...!” Fang cried out in terror on the verge of crying to which Omega quickly struck Fang dumb as the crying words were silenced. So far though the other wolves hadn’t paid that much attention in their confusion which thankfully for both Omega and Fang’s sakes they hadn’t been discovered. Omega turned to Fang looking greatly annoyed.
“Keeping an eye on us I see, sneaking around while everyone else has had gotten drunk, a good ploy, but it seems that your luck has fizzled out, you won’t get a chance to inform Talon.” Omega said to which Fang cringed silently in fear that his life would now be extinguished. After everything he had suffered from Omega, Fang would at long last be snuffed out like a candle without ceremony or second through. But instead of the sudden engulfment of death, there was Night, arbitrating Fang like an angel of mercy on his behalf.
“Hasn’t he suffered enough? Can’t you see he’s frightened Omega? There’s nobody left for him to turn to. We should show him mercy, he can’t hurt anybody anymore, you’ve made sure of that.” She said as her wings were spread wide open as if she were shielding him from Omega’s cruelty. Omega nodded and as she closed her wings back, Omega looked at Fang. He was indeed frightened, the look on his face, the tears in his eyes, the sound of his heart, why even his body reeked of fear as adrenaline was evaporating from his body.
“Very well, but I’m only asking this because she asked me to, this isn’t for you. But since you’re here, we might as well put you to use while we go and meet your Boss.” Omega said as Fang tried to crawl back.
“Oh no, not that! If Talon finds me, he’ll kill me! I just want to be left alone!” Fang whimpered, knowing the times Talon had torn his underlings apart for failure.
“Don’t worry about Talon, I’ll see to him myself. In fact we just so happen to be on our way to see your good leader or at least I will be while Night retrieves her students. What I need from you, should you choose to accept this task, is to serve as a diversion to lead his wolves away from the bar wherein they can’t interfere in my up and coming coup d'état. Of course, we can always do this without your cooperation, and if you do this, there might be a little something in it for you. By now you know what I do to those for failure and betrayal. But think of how much more I will reward for loyalty and honor. I can make sure that the rewards I have to offer far overshadow the punishments, take a moment to think about it.” Omega said as though he were a king, making the grandiose enticement of such reward so tantalizing that Fang would be a fool not to take him up on that offer. The same couldn’t be said of Talon whom kept his associates low.
“Alright, you’ve got one distraction; tell me what to do, boss.” Fang said showing his fangs in his closest approximation of a smile as he held out one massive hand to which Omega placed his tiny, doll-like hand which was dwarfed by comparison and shrouded in Fang’s grip as they shook in agreement to this newly formed business proposition.

“It is simple really, I need you to play the bait and lead everyone away from us, to draw their attention elsewhere. But of course they’d have no reason to chase you, but perhaps with the proper disguise to motivate them...” Omega said as he slipped on what appeared to be a strange band made of an unknown, stretchable material over Fang’s hands and onto his arm. Soon after, the band glowed and the glow began to spread over his bulk as it began to disappear or at least parts of it did, some began to change into a different shape until he realized it was the shape of a female...his image was changing into Night until at last Fang’s appearance was gone completely. Night herself was rather perplexed by this strange process, though knowing full well it wasn’t magic, Lhi’aans only held credence in technology.
“What the hell is this?!” the facsimile of Night shrieked in a complete duplicate of Night’s voice as if Fang no longer existed.
“Ah-ah, such language is unbecoming of a lady.” Omega said waving his finger to the copy to which it growled in embarrassment and annoyance.
“Though if you must know, this is an Eylnjefeian Holo-fabrication projector, an alien technology of one of our allied planets. It is able to utilize hard-light technology in such a way that it hides the user’s visual spectrum in a sort of shell to either render them invisible or facilitate disguise, case in point, the duplicate of Night. They will of course be chasing after you in the belief it is her, so it shouldn’t come as no surprise when I stress how crucial it is that you lead them as far away from our location as possible. When you feel you have achieved enough distance, you may take the bracelet off. It has a special silent self-destruct feature to which nobody would be aware you even had it. Or if you’d like, it has a complete light refraction photocell emitter which will render yourself invisible to such a degree that your pursuers would be unable to see, smell or even hear you thanks to the hard light’s feature of wavelength reversal technology. In a pinch, it can make copies of the target making them chase after it if you need to split up your pursuers though they are not as fast and if they should catch them, they would instantly vanish. With that said, it is imperative that you do not get caught. You will need to keep this charade up for the next thirty minutes, though in all honesty I’d give it about forty for good measure. I will let you know when I am finished when you hear a beep on the bracelet which will alert you that we have succeeded and that you can come back to us.”
Fang took in the next several minutes to allow Omega’s words to sink in when he perceived another possibility to the contrary, one he didn’t like.
“Yeah ok, but say something does happen and you screw up, what the hell am I gonna do then huh?” Fang asked with a degree of worry shown with Night’s face masking his own.
“I don’t perceive failure, though I’d imagine there’s always the unlikely probability. In which case, should there be no contact, say within a period of two hours after we commence the operation; I’ve programmed the bracelet to render you invisible with two days worth of power. That should give you enough time to run away to safety. The least I can do is give you that consolation should this operation go south. But frankly, I think that if we can keep up with this plan, we shouldn’t have that problem now won’t we?”
“You don’t know Talon like I do, he’s gonna find out, he always does and when he does...” Fang started in Night’s voice when Omega interrupted.
“Well if you remember those horrible things I was going to do to you, let’s just say the good news is that when I am finished with Talon, he won’t be in any condition to function, much less harm anyone else ever again. You have my personal guarantee.” Omega stated with a confidence that seemed to fill the space around them, solidifying their ideas into a plan of action.
“Right so anyway, we need to get started now while we still have an element of surprise. Fang, they’re looking for me, get moving before they do discover where we are. Omega lets go.” Night said as she got up to move to which Fang and Omega looked at each other with surprise.
“That’s one determined woman.” Said the fake Night while Omega looked at Fang.
“That she is, alright Fang, let’s get moving, oh and just throwing this out there; you’d look cute in a skirt.” Omega joked as he ran off to which came a growl from Fang.
“What the hell is that suppose to mean?!” he yelled which naturally came out in Night’s voice to which no sooner were Omega and Night out of sight had the wolves heard Fang’s outcry. No sooner that he began to wonder if he were heard that they were running in his direction.
“This better be worth it!” he said in a miasma of annoyance and fear as the decoy Night dashed off into the forest, all while with a whole pack of ravenous wolves tailing in pursuit.

As expected, the compound had been deserted save for a couple of guards, though they were large, perhaps even formidable in their own right, yet that only applied to the average person. That point was driven rather eloquently by the time the two had dispatched the two bruisers, both wolves knocked out before they knew what was coming. Before them was the entrance to the bar, to which obviously Talon was somewhere inside, brooding in another room, waiting for his prize to arrive. Omega couldn’t tell whether or not they were being watched or if Talon knew they were here but it had to be assumed that there was a trap set in case Talon had anticipated that scenario so it went without saying that they had to tread carefully and avoid getting caught. The inside of the bar was dark, obviously meant to see if anyone was coming in.
“He’s thought this through, I know this trap. The only light is from the outside so he probably knows that we’re planning something. He’s waiting for us to come in...When we get far enough inside, he’ll come out from above and block us from behind.” Night said, wondering how he had learned this technique.
“I thought as much, Talon isn’t this pack’s Alpha-male without reason...he must’ve sent the pack out knowing you’d come here alone to retrieve the children, which would be a mistake he’s counting on. But he’s missing one crucial detail; ME, so we still have the element of surprise. So, it’d probably be best if I went ahead first, putting his attention on me. When the moment is right, make for the room to the right, there should be a cellar there. The children should be down there. I need you to stay there with them, do not leave until I come for you. Is that understood?” Omega said in laying out the plan.
“Ok, but just do me one favor, don’t overdo it like you did with Fang. Make him suffer if you must but make sure he’s alive, he should have his day in court.”
Omega took a moment to consider this but conceded.
“If that’s what you want, but he’s going to feel the full gravity for what he had done, his punishment deserves more than a prison sentence and I will impart his crimes with their suffering.” Omega retorted, displaying that his retaliations for this crime would be swift just.
Both nodded in agreement as Night stood away from sight as Omega stepped toward the doors.
Darkness enshrouded the corridor inside the broken up derelict, flecks of dust swirled and wafted like a gentle snowfall through the light, which emanated an amber glimmer on the floor, the result of refraction through a broken, brown beer bottle. The wood in this old saloon creaked in the quiet, all with the eerie uncertainty that behind any given door, the predator was lying in wait, brooding with dark intentions toward his prize whose coming was indeed inevitable. This would invoke the sort of fear in the way a crowd never could.
While it is true that crowds are frightening when in a sudden accord, a mass of beings could do terrible, unspeakable things to a person, it was easier to accept as it was expected. It was when alone that fear of the unseen and unknown came into fruition. In the dark, where sight was dimmed down to a narrow view, it often left much to the imagination to fill in the blanks of the indescribable dangers lying in wait. It was the long-standing patience of this wolf that had attained this kind power, as Omega knew that any great hunter often had acquired this gift of patience where knowledge though slowly obtained had proven worth the while in its effectiveness. Talon, as Omega knew was lurking in the shadows somewhere, would be patient, taking his time, watching for the slightest weakness. That was the key to his success, unlike his lackeys, he was intelligent, far more so than he lead on and he knew that this interloper was the intellectual, academic type and knowing that had presented its own unique set of dangers. But Omega would not be dissuaded, fear was an organic trait meant for the assurance in their survival. For Omega, who had proven time and again to be nigh indestructible had no need nor place for fear, but instead would spearhead this menace head-on.
“So bold or foolish for you to intrude into my sanctum, boy; you do know who I am?” said a deep, rich, booming voice that reverberated against the creaking wood as if it came from the ceiling with small plumes of dust falling from the rafters to which Omega knew where he was, but decided to play ignorant for the time being.
“Yes, I know you are Talon; though it isn’t in your best interest to vainly assume you are safe here. In fact I gather by-the-by that word of me has reached your ears.” Omega said looking around, hearing the large creature’s deep breathing as it hid in the darkness of the shadows.
The voice made a small growl and then took a sharp inhale.
“Yeah I’ve heard stories about a small creature that conquered the Beast; never would’ve guessed that the stories were true. Though now that you’ve brought it up, I’d kinda want to know how a tiny, scrawny thing like you managed to get rid of the Beast so quickly. I always thought it was just a story meant to inspire people until now. So now, you’re going to tell me how you did it.” He insisted with some amused interest as though allowing Omega to live just long enough to tell his tale.
“Well, I could tell you, but I won’t. I have my own, personal reasons you understand, but even if I did, you wouldn’t really understand me; everything I’d say would just go right over your head, which I expect is a fairly large one. So sorry, can’t help you with that.” Omega said in an attempt to annoy Talon which it did when one large, muscular hand appeared, slamming down in front of Omega, easily large enough to envelop him to which from the dark came a growling face with eyes as red as blood.
“You’d better reconsider, I’m not quite as stupid as you presume, or wouldn’t the point that I am the leader here make it any more obvious? So, I suggest you open your mouth and speak, or I can open my mouth and eat. Need I go on?” Talon asked, which apparently when up close at Omega’s current size, he was a lot bigger than Omega gave him credit for, but that didn’t by any means make him seem intimidated, not in the slightest.
“Again, sorry, that’s privileged information I prefer in keeping to myself, or if you prefer that in layman’s terms, “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” If you’re so smart, why don’t you figure it out?” Omega said as Talon opened his jaws to chomp him up, to which Omega naturally jumped back with mere inches between him and the enclosed jaw that held the air of his previous location just moments before.
“Oh C’mon now! You’re going to have to be quicker than that, I’m not one for staying in one place for very long, love to travel, keeps me active. Maybe you should take on a more active lifestyle, being sedimentary can be bad for your health y’know, but then who am I to judge?” Said Omega, whom was met in response with another hand trying to slam him to the ground to which he moved; causing the building to shake, a reckless move that could topple the whole building over their heads if he wasn’t careful.
“Is that a challenge?!” growled Talon whom was beginning to become annoyed with the tiny glow worm.
“Oh please, don’t inflate your ego, what makes you think you’re even worth to be called a challenge. Though I might think about it if you and I go outside face to face.” Omega said taking a moment to look around at the dark environment.
“This dump isn’t exactly the sort of place where minds such as ours can conduct a proper conversation. Which by the way, you really should have your pack clean this place up. A little TLC wouldn’t go amiss in here.” Omega said swiping his finger across a window ledge to see the dust collecting on the tip of it. Though with his back turned, he knew Talon had rushed behind him, he was obviously holding onto his last nerve with his face just mere inches from Omega’s head, his hot breath blasting from his nostrils and his clenched teeth, making Omega’s hair sway in its gusts.
“Fine...” he said through his clenched teeth. “But you’d best tell me what I want to hear, because these woods are mine and there will be nowhere for you to hide from ME!
Omega turned around nonchalant as he swiped the dust buildup on his finger on Talon’s nose to which he looked on with shocked dismay and then quickly with his eyes wide opened began furrowed breathing and growling angry with his teeth bared as though at any moment he could snap Omega in half in his jaws.
“Right, though you really might want to stop making that face or it’ll stay that way, ladies do not find that look appealing, I should know.” Omega said, knowing that Talon’s attention was fixated on him as he left the doorway, knowing Talon would follow, after all, Omega had a story to tell and for the time being, Omega had Talon where he wanted him, wrapped around his finger.
Opportunity struck in a most peculiar way, Night observed after speculating that Omega would have torn Talon apart and left him a bloody, broken wolf like he did with Fang, but this unexpected plan worked just as well, at least for the moment as she snuck into the building. It was dark and it was hard for her to adjust her eyes to the dark so quickly, but she could make out the room around her, her other senses gave her a picture of where she was. The lingering scent of beer, wolf musk, and dust was strong, but she could just make out the scent of her students in the right corridor. This was most likely the cellar Omega had mentioned. With great care, she took her time making careful steps, she couldn’t chance making a noise with some bottle breaking or knocking cans around much less hitting something with her foot and causing her to wince in pain, there could be people left behind sleeping off the booze though there were none to be seen thanks to Talon sending them out. Still, she couldn’t be too careful. Soon she reached an alcove leading toward the cellar as she made her way down. In opening the door, she knew her students were being quiet, a lesson she had taught in dealing with dangerous situations. She then took a moment to listen, just to make sure there wasn’t guards in the room with them. Again she heard nothing, but she could hear ever so faintly the sound of breathing...they were scared and that was good, it meant they were alive. This didn’t mean there wasn’t danger, Talon could have trained them to be quiet when on duty so she had to mentally prepare herself as she sprung the door open which as she guessed was a guard who suddenly was caught in surprise, something Night had the advantage of as she allowed the wild portion of her mind to be unleashed that she could go and attack as she tackled hapless sentry before he could react. The children were equally as startled when the guard began to scream as something began to happen, something wrong as the guard screamed in fear and torment as Night tore into his abdomen, blood gushing from it like “Old Faithful” until a few chomps later with her head deep in his abdominal region that he laid dead, the bloodbath that she had descended down into had ended with his sudden silence as his limbs dropped, traumatizing her witnesses which made what Omega did a slap on the hand in comparison. Then she arose and went to a metal bowl full of water as she threw it upon herself to wash the blood off, only to reveal that it wasn’t Night, no this woman had wings like a dragon, her face though looked like Night’s but held an ominous, spellbinding quality to it like some siren. One of the children was crying in terror to what he had seen to which the wolf moved in sinuous, almost mesmerizing gait to the little cub.
“There, there, little one. I didn’t frighten you when I got rid of that bad wolf now did I? she said with her voice as smooth and sweet like honey, though the older ones detected a touch of venom in her after-tone.
“I want my mommy.” The young wolf cub whimpered with fresh tears welling in his eyes to which she placed her hand gently on top of his head, then ever so gently stroking his hair to calm him.
“Of course you want mommy, but don’t fret, I’ll take wonderful care of all of you, my precious little sweets. You all will get to see your mummies and daddies very soon. Would I lie?” she said as the child in his innocence shook his head, though the adolescent mountain lioness and the inquisitive young fox were not convinced.
“Tommy, hey buddy, Laen has something she wants to show you. It’s really cool, you should go see.” The fox said to whom the little cub turned around in his innocence toward the Lioness named Laen. This altered version of Night only let the boy go with a smile feigning innocence and ignorance...though the fox knew better as he approached this imposter, obviously anxious. Something about her made him feel uneasy, as her gaze looked at him with almost seizing eyes as though they were pulling him.
“Look uh, lady, not that we don’t appreciate the help, it’s just we really need to be on our way home now, so if you don’t mind we can show ourselves...” he suddenly paused as she stared silently at him with her luminous amber eyes as if they were piercing into his heart. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as he fell dumbfounded as she approached him until her face was in front of his. She was taller than he was, obviously more powerful, and yet none of that seemed to hold as much sway as to her influence she was putting over on him. He was trying to fight it as he knew he had to, though the seductive caress of whatever heady pheromones were dancing in his synapses was slowly taking hold like a poison until she added the final dose by embracing him, his eyes growing heavy under her intoxicating influence, as though the world around him was in a fog, nonexistent as she was the only thing that mattered. She smiled with satisfaction as she gently pressed her lips on top of his head and kissed it, slowly lifting her lips with a faint pop as if to drive the last wave of her essence into him.
“Such a sweet little boy, I think I’ll keep you for myself.” She cooed as he drooped in her complete control as she once again kissed his head, while looking up at Laen the mountain lioness, her domineering ambiance over the boy made her smile spitefully at the girl as if to say “the boy is mine now and there is nothing you can say or do to save him.”
This to Laen had sparked animosity as she watched her friend whom moments ago took initiative in standing up to her, only now becoming putty in her paws. It was terrifying how quickly her influential power had changed him from the brilliant, clever fox and watching him waste away before her eyes into a dumb, simple creature who became bewitched in the hormonal bliss he found himself in, a living aphrodisiac corroding his mind.
“Terrence, wake up. Hey Terrence! What’s wrong with you?!” she asked as she shook him, trying to break this spell over him as the she-wolf smiled at her pathetic attempts to bring him back as tears flowed through her eyes as her friend responded in much the same way as a ragdoll.
“Who...who are you?” Laen asked struggling to retain her bravado though knowing she was failing as she clutched little Tommy to her. It didn’t need saying that he knew something wrong and that made him scared as he hid his face from the scary lady.
She hummed a beautifully haunting tune to herself as she considered Laen’s question as she drew her face near hers...and while the pheromones wouldn’t work on her, the fearful countenance she imbued proved otherwise.
“Well I wouldn’t know about that sweetie, that all depends.” She said teasingly
“On what?!” shouted Laen indignantly.
“How well can you keep a secret? Secrets make for such enjoyable little games, games of little white lies and little truths that are best kept in dark places. That game that breaks some lover’s heart if they found out.” She said in a sing-song tone, enjoying her toying tease on Laen all the more with her cruel mischief.
“Are you going to tell me or not?!” Laen yelled, growing tired of the slow torture she had been put on.
“Well if you insist, but you remember the rules. To never ever tell a soul.” She said teasing
“Yes, yes, I get it!” Laen said growing tired of this charade when the wolf brought her face swiftly within centimeters of her own with a threatening smile.
“Cross your heart, and hope to die?” she asked, adding a degree of emphasis on the dying part.
“Y-yes...I promise” she stuttered now growing afraid.
“Good, though you should move the boy, we wouldn’t want this conversation falling on innocent ears now would we?” She mused as though the words she would impart was already what she fear her suspicions would confirm as she had already dreaded as she reassured Tommy and moved him behind her. She knew he was as frightened as she was as the she-wolf smiled.
“Good, now come closer dear.” She beaconed Laen to approach whom only stood short of earshot distance, she dared not go any further.
“Come now darling, just a little more. I promise I won’t bite.” She said ending the sentence with emphasis on displaying her teeth which only moments ago had torn into the guard whom now lay in eternal agony as a corpse, an image Laen would never forget as she timidly brought her ear close enough to the wolf’s jaws that she could lick into it with little effort as she whispered.
“I am...the Beast.” She hissed into her ear almost passionately as if a lover to which Laen was now wide-eyed in horror as all the stories she heard from her parents and grandparents were true. She had no words, nothing to convey her terror other than the shock. This had to be a nightmare, this couldn’t be happening. If the Beast was indeed back, she was alive and worse than anything she could have imagined as she looked to the side at her friend whom still was under her spell.
“ No...oh gods please, this can’t be real!” she said wanting desperately to wake up from this nightmare.
“Tsk, denial...such a dismal gesture, as you could doubt your own senses. Sad really, hiding yourself in your little fortress of lies that crumble away like sand castles before the reflective tides of truth.” She versed as though quoting poetry, which to the one that remained conscious found even more disturbing that she was not only deadly in her ferocity, but her now directing her powers of deceit over the two vulnerable children when it came to her cool intellect, coupled with her charisma and influence only added to her all the more malevolent and harder to beat as she grew stronger with every passing minute.
“Please, we don’t want any trouble, just leave us alone!” Laen begged, hoping that with her intellect came with no small degree of mercy as she eclipsed over the two who trembled before her as her glowing yellow eyes pierced deep into their minds, into their souls with waves of penetrating fear. She seemed to be considering this proposal for a moment, a hopeful chance that she may let them go.
“Hm...Maybe I should release you, then again, I could make it so hard to find you three, and the police would already accuse the gang and never suspect it was me. I don’t know, so hard to choose.” She paused amusingly at the two coherently frightened faces while the third still entranced by the subtle yet effective allurement that had him captivated in silent rapture. Then after her slow consideration toying with their fear of their fate, she then looked at them and smiled as if she made a decision.
I think I’ll decide to be merciful and let you live, of course this is not for free, you’d have to give me something in return. A price of your silence in exchange for sparing your lives. You will tell nobody of our little rendezvous, and above all you are to never to let Omega on of my being here, even the slightest notion that I am around. Because if I should suspect in the least that you’re leading him on...” she growled for a moment, paused and then smiled at little Tommy whom hid his face in Laen’s abdomen as she held him tight. “...I like the cute little one, why I could just eat him up.” She cooed though she put the emphasis on eating him.
“No, we...he won’t know anything, I promise, we’ll make sure he thinks everything is normal.” Bargained Laen, desperately wanting to get as far away from the witch as she possibly could.
“I should hope so, for the boy’s sake. Wouldn’t it be a pity if someone made a peep? I don’t think anybody would want that, now would they?” She asked, putting up her honey sweet voice, but it didn’t take a genius to know that it was laced in threatening malice.
“I said I promised! What more must I do to prove that?!” Laen whined in protest to which the Beast looked back to her induced prisoner who barely had a coherent thought as he just sat there.
“He’ll make fine collateral, though of course he can’t be missed, people would begin to wonder. So he will remain normal and utterly oblivious of my subtle caress of his mind. As we speak he has a good, heady dose of pheromones, the poor boy couldn’t make up his own mind even if he wanted to, but I can make it all disappear if you agree to my terms. But just so you understand how serious I am, he already has a toxic amount of pheromones lying dormant but withheld in his skin, implanted just enough to remain unnoticed. But if I am given reason to suspect anything in the slightest, Why, I just might slip and it would seep out ever so much that the poor dear would smother in the toxic amount of pheromones I’ve given him. So for his sake, you’ll do well to keep your silence, after all, it is such quite a small recompense when it comes down for the lives of the two people you love.” She said with a smile, though as before had the promise of death lingering in her breath which smelled of the bittersweet odor of fresh blood of her prior quarry.
“Fine, yes, just let us go!” Laen cried out, ready for this nightmare to end as to which the Beast chuckled with a light acquiesce.
“Very well mon petite, then I bid you adieu, and remember, though you won’t see me, I will still be keeping an eye out on you. Mmhm...Well, ciao.” She said to which as quickly as she came she suddenly vanished as the body fell to the ground where Night had just barely landed on the floor with her hands, panting, struggling to keep her balance and her constitution as though she had been held underwater up until the last moment to which Laen and Tommy rushed up to help her. Night’s face was flush with horror; her eyes wide open as though she were saved from being a moment from death.
“Miss Night? Are you ok?” asked Laen very quietly as Night turned her head toward her quickly as if she were startled when she saw the face of her familiar student. Then as if cued, tears streamed down her face as she clutched Laen close to her, sobbing harder than she ever had before.
“Oh gods I am sorry...I am so sorry! Why did I ever let myself think I was fixed?! I’m still a monster just like I’ve always been!” she wailed, muffled by her close contact to Laen.
“Don’t ever say that Miss Night, that wasn’t you, that was the monster that was using you, you told us about what happened, we understand.” Laen said putting her hand to Night’s back just between her wings.
“No, you don’t understand, she’s even worse now than she ever was. She has us all trapped and Omega’s the only one who can help us, except now she’s holding us captive. There will be no help for us, I don’t know what I’m going to do now and it’s my fault for making Omega leave in the first place, none of this would have happened.” She said with regret in the belief that with the turn of events as they were, they had only played into the Beast’s hands. Without Omega’s presence to monitor or even put a stop to her presence, they were now under her vile will, a dictator whom now acts as warden, judge, and if they didn’t bow to her wishes, their executioner.
“Stop blaming yourself! None of this is over, she may have us cornered, but she’s not all powerful. If we give ourselves time and patience, we will find her weakness. That’s what you taught us, that through patience we learn and what we learn we use to our advantage, that applies not only to the hunt, but in everything life throws at us. It’s only when we give in that we allow her to beat us! We have to stand up and not be afraid of her!” Laen said as she looked at Terrance, the fox was still in a trance as she growled at him walking towards him.
“Terrance, stop sitting there, you need to wake up! You have to fight! FIGHT!” she roared as she swiped her paw across his face, giving it a good slap which made him recoil back.
“Ow!! OW! Hey! That hurt! Wait...that was what I needed, Thank you Laen. I don’t know what came over me.” Terrance said shaking his head, trying to wake up.
“She used some kind of pheromones to take over your mind, she’s getting smarter, making her more dangerous and I have no idea how she got this way. She used to be such a stupid beast, but now after all these years, she’s back and I know she’s been planning for a long time. I don’t know what it is yet, but maybe, somehow we can find out what it is before she goes through with it.” Night said, bringing back the bravado to the two youth’s whilst Tommy approached Night cautiously, as though at any moment the Beast would come out and gobble him up.
“It’s ok Tommy, our Night is back, she’ll keep the mean lady away from now on. She can’t hurt you now.” Said Laen as Night opened her arms to which Tommy slowly and skeptically approached until Night gently tapped him on the nose like she always had done when teasing him to which he rushed to her embrace as she held the little pup. Yet while Night held him with her face turned away, she couldn’t help but felt like that she was lying to him. The Beast could return at any time now, yet she had promised Tommy with assurance that they had some security that the Beast couldn’t touch them, when the reality remained that she could snap his neck even now as she held the pup, she had only her hope to rely on now as she put Tommy down.
“Alright then, the wolves are all gone, Omega and Fang is keeping them busy, so let’s go while we can. We can go home now.” Night said as then agreed and walked toward the door. Night on her way out looked at the now cold remains of the Beast’s first victim, the bleeding had stopped, but it was all over the floor now. An unpleasant image of seeing her students in the same way made her almost want to throw up, but she had to remain strong and calm for her students’ sake. So long as she stayed strong, she had hope, and for now that had to be enough.