"Not if they kill you first." Ice's lips curl up, contorting his face as he bares his teeth. Frost erupts from his paws, shooting across the ground and running up the Soldiers' armor. The look of surprise on the Soldiers' faces becomes locked on as their bodies freeze. I see Ice breathe a sigh of relief, his head falling onto his forepaws.

This time I dive for real, and I let myself fall into a rhythm of felling the Guard and Soldiers. "Good to see you're back," Ky says to me as we pass each other. His fur is matted with blood and grime.

"Sorry, had to see if Ice needed help," I reply as I jump out of the way of a sword.

"Shut up and fight back! It's all me!" Ky squeals as an arrow slices through his bandana, grazing his shoulders and breaking a hole clean through the red fabric. I take one of the daggers from a fallen Guard and make quick work of the Guard and Soldiers surrounding me.

Soon, the Guard and Soldiers are dead. I take a deep breath, and the adrenaline begins to wear off a few minutes later, letting me feel the pain. My skin starts to heat up, the sign my healing power is mending the wounds.

"Die, you bi-." Phoenix is cut off as he snarls. Elastica's teeth sink into his shoulder. The black cat lashes out, claws flashing and flames racing across the She-Wyrm's body. Her smooth skin turns black.

Just like the fight before, Phoenix quickly gets the upper hand within a few moments. His paws wrap around Elastica's body, restraining her before pinning her to the ground. A snarl rips from his throat as the She-Wyrm strains to break free.

Her forelegs stretch to reach for Phoenix, but he's faster and slams them to the ground with a paw. Green splatters on the rocks as his fangs pierce her throat.

It's almost a mirror image from the time Phoenix nearly killed her before; Phoenix holding down Elastica with a forepaw just below her jaw and the other on the opposing shoulder, his hind legs on her tail. Elastica's forced to curl up beneath his grip, and her eyes look toward the sky. I don't see any emotion in her eyes- it's as if she's just given up.

Elastica's eyelids flutter, and her breaths begin to shudder before becoming more sporadic and weaker. Green blood runs like a river down her neck and chest, drenching the stone beneath her. I can only stand and watch.

I know she's loyal to King Garonda XIV, the person I despise the most, but I can't help but have some sympathy for the She-Wyrm as she goes limp in Phoenix's grip, leaning into his sick embrace once she doesn't have the strength to keep herself upright. A tentacle foreleg rests across his flank, and I see Phoenix's lip curl at the movement.

This isn't right. She shouldn't suffer this much. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, even King Garonda XIV. I want him dead, of course I do, but I don't want him to suffer this much. There's no stopping Phoenix though. Not after he stopped once.

Ice walks up to me. "Hey, Ice," I say as I turn my attention away from Phoenix and Elastica. "How are you doing?"

"Fine." I feel like he says that a lot, I think to myself, but I leave it alone.

"Alright," I say.

"So Phoenix is just gonna sit there until Elastica's dead?" Ice asks.

"Yep," Ky replies before I can. "Not KG14, but one step closer, that's for sure. No more She-Wyrm for the so-called King of Ragdon. One more piece taken away from him and one more piece taken to weaken him. Keep doing this and he'll be standing on pillars of sand, not that he isn't already. Time's a tickin', KG14. You won't be ruling for much longer, if ruling's what you'd call it. Don't you worry, KG14. We'll make sure you get everything you've done to us returned tenfold."

"What has he done to you, if you don't mind me asking?"

Phoenix lets out the angriest, loudest roar I've heard from him. His flames glow with fury and his eyes burn with rage. He's trembling, like time bomb that's just reached its limit. He leaps to his feet, jerks his head to the side and snaps Elastica's neck, and races forward.

He was just toying with her, prolonging her death. Jeez.

"You wanna know what he did? You wanna know?" Phoenix growls. His sides shake, and his claws curl into the stone as fire races across his fur, reaching toward the sky in a show of fury.

"If you don't mind me asking," I reply softly.

"Well, lemme enlighten you as to the true, twisted, savage nature of our dear friend, KG14. Minus the K because he never deserved it- he's no King. And minus the dear cuz he's about the farthest from dear anyone can ever be. And minus the friend cuz he's my worst enemy, and enemy doesn't do even an ounce of justice for how much I hate, no despise him. There isn't an atom in my body that doesn't want to slowly tear the life from his flesh as I repay him tenfold. Anyways," Phoenix spits the words like they leave a vile taste in his mouth.

"It all started when Ky and I were just a few years old, about eight or nine. We had been out playing out in the forest when our dad told us to come back- our mother had just had a baby and we could go meet her. Spoiler alert: that never happened cuz we were never able to reach our home in time. We'd started heading back. But then those fuc-. Fine, Ky." Phoenix pauses to sneer as he comes up with an alternative. "The brainless weaklings, aka the Guard and Soldiers, sent by KG14, got there first. They set our house on fire."

"Take a breath, Phoenix." Ky's shaking and his eyes flash with anger, but he masks it better than Phoenix does.

If he's even trying to hide it at all, my subconscious adds.

"He set the house on fire. Well, he couldn't do it himself now, could he? No, he had to send his Guard and Soldiers to do it for him. Our father, our mother, and our baby sister! They were all in there, and I couldn't save them. I can control fire! I should've been able to get the flames under my control. But I wasn't. I was weak. I was weak, and it cost my father, my mother, and my baby sister their lives. If I hadn't been so weak that day, they would still be here. But they're not, so I'm going to make KG14 pay. He's going to pay with watching his army fall, watching his entire reign collapse, and then he's going to pay with his life.

"But now I'm strong. KG14's never going to get away with that again. The second he sets fire to anything, it's gone. I'll take control of the fire and turn it against him. Never more is he going to get away with anything like that." Phoenix looks like he's about to snap.

The black cat's eyes are distant, lost in the memories of witnessing his family's death and blazing with rage over what he lost and what the King had done to him.

"He's never gonna, ever again," Ky agrees. "And if you're not there, I'll drive them away, summon the Blood Demon again if I have to. I'll still drive them away even if you are there."

"He's going to pay," Phoenix seethes, flames blazing in furious yellows and whites. "I don't care what I have to do, I'll do it in a heartbeat if it means I can finally get my revenge."

"There's probably at least one or two things that would make you stop," Ice murmurs. He's studying his paws but looks up as he speaks.

"No."

"Ky?"

Phoenix only growls in response, and it quickly turns into a bitter snarl. He throws his head to the side.

"Fine, Ky would make me stop, but only if it my stopping would save his life. Anything else, including you two, mean nothing when it comes to getting my revenge. I'd let you die if it meant I could kill KG14."

Well, that's nice. At least he's honest.

Ice flinches.

"You know, Phoenix," Ky says, shifting on his paws. "There are nicer ways to say that."

"Don't care. It's true, so why sugarcoat it?"

"I appreciate the honesty, Phoenix. But we're out in the open here. Who knows when the next round of Guard and Soldiers are gonna appear? We need to keep moving."

"Yeah, yeah. I'd just burn them all to ashes. Then I can deliver them to KG14. Special delivery. And when I get there and have given them to him and made a show and made sure he knows that he's got nothing left but his life, I'm going to kill him. He's gonna scream for mercy, but it's never gonna come. My family cried out for mercy, but they never got it. He won't either"

Ky curses. "More!" Is all he's able to get out before we're surrounded.

"Nice speech, cat," a Soldier says, stepping forward a few feet. Phoenix trembles with fury, and his sides heave with each breath. His eyes blaze with a seething anger I've never seen before from him.

"Cat got your tongue?" A Guard mocks. Snickers roll across the crowd as the Guard and Soldiers await the word to attack.

It happens so fast I barely catch it.

The lead Guard reaches up a hand and his fingers begin to close into a fist. Phoenix has been watching the Guard out of the corner of his eye. Just as the Guard's fingers brush his palm, the black cat's flames explode in a show of oranges, yellows, and whites. The inferno rips outwards, and the Guard and Soldier's eyes widen in shock and fear as the heat sizzles in the air and they're engulfed in the blaze.

I doubt it's more than a second from when Phoenix releases the explosion and the Guard and Soldiers disappear behind a wall of fire. After the flames have died down, only some smoldering bits of armor and embers remain above a bed of ash.

Phoenix's lip curls as he digs his claws into the rock in an effort to calm down. It's in vain. "Not bad," Ky chuckles. His brown eyes glow with happiness. Misplaced happiness. Phoenix doesn't reply.

"Guys," Ice says softly. "Can we please get out of here?" His gaze is locked onto his paws, as if he can't face the sight of the charred remains. He shifts as he begins to tremble. Tears well in his eyes, starting to run down his cheeks.

"Of course," I say. "Let's go." I rest my hand on Ice's shoulders, gently guiding him away from the ash. He follows without hesitation. Ky murmurs something to Phoenix, but I miss it.

xxxx

"You knew they were there?!" Ky shrieks after an hour or so of walking and talking to his brother for the past few minutes.

"Of course," Phoenix mutters. "Why wouldn't I have? The Guard and Soldiers aren't the most subtle creatures when moving in the forest if you know what to listen for."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I ask.

"Wanted to make them think they had successfully snuck up on us and then watch the look of surprise as I didn't react when they appeared. And I wouldn't get to watch them all burn to ashes if I'd said something. It wouldn't've been so fast, so satisfying. I mean, look at how they're nothing more than some charred bits of flesh and ashes now. Isn't that so satisfying?"

"Sure," Ky says.

"Anyways. We should probably turn here. Going up over Ragdon Volano isn't going to help us find the new Midnight Wolf. There's a pretty steep cliff on the other side for most of the back half of the Volcano."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Dove. There is. Who do you think has spent more time exploring the island, you or me? I'm willing to bet quite a bit that most of your time outside of the White Tent Sea has been getting caught and brought to the foot of the Amethyst Throne. Am I right or am I right?" Phoenix looks at me with a bored expression.

"Let's keep going. We're not going to find Wolf by just standing around here. She's out there somewhere, and we need to find her."

"Mmhmm. How about we turn and walk on the outside of the Volcano for a while. You know, to not have to cross a cliff?" Why do I feel like he's getting worse?

xxxx

It seems as though we've settled into a routine. Ky and Phoenix walk side by side, and Ice trails a few steps behind me.

"Can you help me wake up?" Ice murmurs as the sun begins to set behind the trees.

Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please vote and feel free to leave a comment!

Elastica's dead. How's that going to go down for King Garonda XIV?

Oh, no! We just learned why Ky and Phoenix have a such a deep, burning hatred for King Garonda XIV. What do you think of that?

After learning more about Phoenix's past, no wonder he's put so much effort into becoming as powerful as he is. In my mind, he's like a self-made legend. Wolf and Dove were given their powers, but Phoenix worked for his. What are your thoughts?

What does Ice mean when he asks Dove to help him wake up? How will Dove do that?

Until next time, stay safe!

-Werewolf14-