Chapter Two: Qaraiune
His eyes opened to find a metallic room enclosing him. The boy sat up, seeing a young boy on the other side of a glass wall. "You should really listen to Father. I don't think you want to keep waking up, not remembering anything, Arai."
Arai's eyes widened as he remembered who he was. All his memories came rushing back at once. "Where am I?" That was one memory that never returned. He did recall being kidnapped from his castle one day. How this feat was accomplished, Arai couldn't comprehend. He should've at least been rescued quickly after if they didn't stop the intrusion in the first place.
"At Father's house. These are our rooms. Father took a liking to you. It's because you look awesome!" The red-headed boy got all excited as he jumped up, striking a fighting pose. "I'm going to become Father's favorite one day! Brother can suck it!"
Arai was quite confused about the eccentric child, but he needed to break out. He looked around, trying to find something, but it was all metal and one glass wall. He couldn't even find the door. Arai jumped up and shot his fire blasts at the metallic wall, heating it up until an alarm went off. A huge rush of wind blew through the room, as the opposite wall opened slightly in multiple slits. Arai was slammed up against the heated wall, all his fire going out and the wall cooling down rapidly.
"How many times are you going to do that? It gets funnier every time!" The boy laughed.
"Stop laughing!" Arai spit out after he recovered from the gust. "How do I get out of here?" He thought he'd take a chance on the boy. Maybe he knew something.
"Not again... I told you. This is our room at Father's house. I don't even know what it looks like out there. Brother does though. He tells me it's worth the wait and the training." The boy started working out again with the equipment in his room.
Arai didn't even have equipment. It was just a blank box. Arai felt something, something he didn't understand, but he followed his instinct, dashing at the metal wall. He set ablaze around his body. He saw the wall slit open barely, then proceed to latch itself. Arai bashed into the wall head-first, knocking himself out.
He awoke with a gasp, looking around. Everything was the same, except the boy was sleeping in his bed, and there was a plate of food on the floor. Arai felt his stomach roar at sight of the food. He couldn't even remember the last time he had food. He rushed over to the food, inhaling it.
"Father left that last night after you hit your head on the wall. It would've been warmer if you stopped trying to escape. That's what he said anyway."
Arai looked over to see the boy sitting in his bed, rubbing his eyes. He heard last night, and it made him wonder. Since he couldn't recall anything before yesterday, he was curious. "How long have I been here?"
"For a while now," he answered with thought on his mind. "Father hasn't been much interested in you lately. He would've gotten rid of you if I didn't ask. He likes to throw away his failed projects."
Failed projects? Arai was puzzled. Had he been captured and experimented on? He didn't feel any different since before, except he couldn't remember the past few months. "Why did you ask? For someone to talk to?"
"Yea, he made my room into two halves. You got the punishment side since you're new, and I don't misbehave anymore. You'll learn to stop breaking free, and if you don't I get to laugh." The boy started giggling at the thought.
Arai just looked at the boy, walking closer to the glass wall. He touched it, which electrocuted him, blasting him back. "Hahaha! You did it again! Oh man, you never learn do you?" The boy burst out laughing.
Arai was frustrated from the shock. It was never fun to have electricity intruding your body, especially when it came from a glass wall. What material was between the two of them? "Father had the wall built so there's no escape. Punishment gets rough if you don't listen to Father." The boy got dead serious on the last sentence then lightened up again with laughter.
Arai wasn't taking any more chances on that. The boy came off as extremely creepy during it, and he didn't want to end up like that. Arai sat down and became quiet. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He assumed the boy went back to sleep as he didn't hear anything for a few hours.
"What are you doing over there?" Arai heard. He opened his eyes to see the boy waking up. He immediately went into training after getting out of bed. Arai was surprised at how toned his muscles were for his age. He couldn't have been a teenager yet, yet he looked like that.
"I'm just thinking, since there's nothing else to do in this box." He had been meditating on his teachings from his civilization. He just hoped he learned enough to reach his goal before something horrible happens. He was around the age he achieved his Two-form.
"Why don't you train with me?" The boy suggested, lifting weights like a pro.
"I don't feel like getting attacked for doing something. I'd rather just sit here and think." Arai knew he didn't need to physically train. It was his meditation that needed the lift to transcend. He just used the pain as an excuse to cover up his meditation. If the Father caught wind of his plan, he might be ended prematurely.
"I told you you'll learn. Father knows best." Arai didn't respond, hoping the boy would stop talking to him. He didn't know how to handle the boy's creepiness of his brainwashing. Before he closed his eyes, he saw something familiar in the boy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he looked familiar. He pushed the thought away, figuring it had to do with his memory loss.
He meditated as much as he could for the next few days, but the Father had gotten suspicious. The wall opened, Arai didn't even motion to go through it, knowing he wouldn't make it. "Hey, Tiny! What are you doing?"
"Brother! No, don't hurt him, please!" The little boy cried out. That was when Arai stood up, readying himself defensively. It didn't work in his favor though, as the man pounded him across the face and into the glass wall, electrocuting him before blasting him off the wall. The brother lifted Arai up by his cloth.
"Answer me Tiny." Arai swiftly brought his leg up to kick the man in the groin, but he felt his leg stop by the brother's thighs. Every second, the thighs constricted more and more. Arai let out a cry. "You can stop it."
"Brother, stop! Arai didn't mean to offend Father. He just wanted to think!"
"Quiet Irazen! If he doesn't play with you, he's no use to anyone!" The man slammed Arai into the ground. Arai blacked out from the force, which bounced his body, as he regained consciousness in the air a second after. He landed back on the ground, rolling away as fast as he could.
Arai used the roll to get back up onto his feet, but as he did he heard, "Elitist Strike: Lightning Fist!" He saw a fist crackling with lightning approaching him quickly. Arai couldn't even get his guard up, starting during his roll’s end. The fist knocked him over, back into the metallic wall. Luckily it wasn't the glass one.
Arai shook it off, focusing on the fight. He opened his eyes to see the large man approaching him again. This time he was slower. Arai dodged the attack, taking the spacing to evaluate his surroundings. It was just the room like it has been. It was just him and the large blonde man. He could tell he grew up in a similar environment as the boy. He took notice of the armor, aerodynamic and covering his vitals.
Arai kept dodging the man's strikes, having the superior agility. He had to keep a check on his surroundings though, making sure not to get cornered by the huge man. "Come on Arai, kick his butt!"
"Irazen, I said quiet. Do you want to be next!?"
"Sure do Captain! I'm gonna beat you up bro!" The boy did some shadow jabs while dodging nothing. Arai could only see it because of the current rotation of the fight.
"Elitist Strike: Earthquake!" The man roared as he pounded the ground once. There was no motion of anything, but Arai was sent flying into the wall with the force of a punch. He had to be more resourceful than this guy. He flared up his fire, charging the brother. The impact slid him back, but he caught hold of Arai, dropping him into the ground then crushing him with his body. "Come on Tiny. This all you got?"
Arai pushed himself up, throwing the man off of him. He growled at him, letting out flames. The hue slowly altered to blue, as did his hair and tail. Another tail grew out from his backside, which completed his roar. He charged the man again, this time knocking the two of them into the glass wall, shattering through it.
Alarms went off violently, as both the walls opened up slits and pushed gusts through the room. Arai stood his ground, sliding back as the other two blasted up against the wall. All the glass passed through the metal wall, only some cutting the two brothers. "Come on kid! Let's jailbreak this place!" Arai yelled out over the howling winds. He let himself slide back near the wall, grabbing the boy.
The boy grabbed onto his shirt as Arai dropped to all fours and dashed at the open wall. He barely moved forward, but he made it halfway through the room when the walls shut, ceasing the wind. Arai blasted forward from the released force. He wrapped his body in a blue flaming aura, as he did before.
The wall busted through and Arai was on the other side. He looked down both hallways, and dashed down a random choice, reverting to his normal orange form. Arai ran down the hallway, reaching a door he broke through like the wall. On the other side stood one of his own. Arai stood up, letting the boy down.
"The Black Knight." Arai said coldly. It was one of the strongest of the Snow Fox tribe that stood before him. He knew about her treachery and fleeing, but he would've never thought her to be here right now.
"The White Knight: Prince Geim. I know you haven't officially received that title, but with your father dead, no one else would take it, saving it for his lost son."
Arai refused to believe the woman, focusing on his task to escape first. "Let me pass."
"I'm sorry, but I don't take orders from your kind. Your tribe believing it's better than ours? I only wish I got the chance to take down the entire Geim family. At least I'll still get the princess and prince."
Princess? Arai didn't have a sister. He knew she was lying now. "Try me." Arai stated boldly. He figured this would end in a fight, so he'd need to start it faster. Before Arai could strike, his opponent transcended. Her white hair became black, and she grew an extra tail. Darkness surrounded her. Arai pulled himself back into his blue fire state, hoping to end this quickly.
Arai dropped to all fours as did the Black Knight. The two battled it out, evenly matched, except Arai didn't have any armor like his opponent. He grew weaker with each clash, eventually reaching back to his normal state. His fur became orange and his tail count reduced to one. She took advantage of him and knocked him back onto the ground.
As he lay there, unable to defend himself from the incoming fatal strike, a voice called out. "Elitist Strike: Thunder Punch!" The Black Knight was immobilized as a small hand lifted Arai. It was the little boy that saved him. "Hurry, it doesn't last long!"
Arai snapped to it, running with the boy in his arms. "I'm slowing you down." The boy reasoned with Arai. "I can make sure they don't follow you." He popped himself out of Arai's grasp and pushed him to go, as the sounds of the others were approaching.
"Thanks kid. I'll get you one day, so you can see the world." Arai dashed at the fork in the hallway, as the boy ran towards the other two. He reached the end of the tunnel, seeing the light in front of him. He ran out into the open world, immediately tumbling down the mountain side.
He was free, but where was he? Arai looked around the area, running through it. It was all wilderness, and certainly not any Yeoux territory he’d seen. The open fields made him uncomfortable, having lived in the forest-filled land. He'd just have to search out the nearest town or city.
He crossed the land for days, finding nothing out here. Wherever he was, he knew it wasn't civilized. This area was less barren than his homeland. Finding no trace of much, Arai aimed due North-East, heading back for Yeoux territory. Then, he’d be able to find his home.
Following the rising sun, Arai treaded ground for days, but found familiarity about his surroundings. He had finally made it near the border. And this was just outside his forest. He gave dash, quickly finding his way into the forest itself. He thought he was safe, but upon entrance, he was noticed by the wolf-type.
He transformed, giving himself the quick burst he needed to set great distance from him and the pursuing wolves. Was it all true then? Had his father been killed, or perhaps there is just another war in effect. All he knew was he needed to return home quickly, and careful of enemy sightings.
With his knowledge of his homeland forest, he made way to his village easily, even with all the wolf-breeds about. With each second, he worried more. There he stood on the outskirts of his village, scanning it. All his village-mates were still there, but he noticed them inside with. They must’ve won with no fighting occurring. He heard a snap behind him, but before he could turn, he was out cold.
He awoke held in chains. This made him snap quickly, straining himself to get free. Strange dialect sounded nearby. Arai turned to the sounds, seeing a group of wolves with a few of his own walking toward him. “Don’t tell me you forgot your own native tongue,” the royal wolf spoke. “The ex-prince. This is why you didn’t deserve the throne.”
“Who are you?” Arai questioned, aiming to find why his village had been captured.
“I am Emperor Force. Though, I’m quite surprised you’ve returned Qaraiune. Your people were right about you still being alive, but I’m afraid you’re too late on saving them. Of course, you’ll have your chance in the Royal Dome, as I do feel the strongest deserves the command.”
Arai stood still, as Force left the room. He began the native dialect again, but Arai couldn’t make anything out. Had he really forgotten his own language? He sat alone in the chains, waiting for his chance to fight the Wolf King. Not soon after his departure, Force had apparently sent in guards to let Arai train. They had unlocked him.
Arai began sparring with a fellow fox-type. No matter what Arai tried saying, his sparmate didn’t speak. Arai just asked him to give it his all, beginning the spar match. His opponent did well, but Arai knew he had the advantage. He focused more on technique practice and exercise of the event.
After it was over, Arai sat in form in the middle of the room, meditating. He had only an hour left until the match. He wanted to try and train his superior form, but didn’t want the guards to let Force know. So, he attempted to train it through his mind, just as before.
The time came. Arai was escorted to the Royal Dome, but the escorts were mainly just following him. This was the event to see. After the previous challenges, no one dared challenge Emperor Force. Arai tried ignoring their talk, but with them speaking human, he could understand.
They reached the natural stadium, rocks surrounding a flat terrain. Arai stood across the arena from Force. Force removed his royal jacket and tossed it to the side, out of fighting way. He spread his legs, lowering his center, and readied his claws, taking full stance of battle. “I’ll be generous today.”
Arai took stance as well, still in his prisoner outfit. He charged forth, attempting to ram Force far enough to hit the wall behind him, yet on contact, Force grabbed Arai and flipped him into the air. He pushed off the ground, spinning perpendicular to Arai, smashing his leg full force into Arai. The impact sent Arai rolling into the ground to the side as Force realigned his body to land properly.
Arai picked himself up, only to be picked up even farther by Force, who suplexed him into the ground. Force rolled off his attack, grabbing Arai’s ankles and twirling him into the nearby wall. Arai pushed off the wall, knowing Force was coming with a piercing blow to his gut. He knew all too well how this style worked for strength-based wolves.
Arai dashed back, bringing the fight back into the center of the ring. Force charged him this time, giving Arai little reaction. Force started swiping at Arai, in perfect intervals. Arai dodged hard, even attempting to change directions to get the advantage. It was in vain. Force’s speed exceeded Arai’s, overtaking him after a short time. The claw swipe cut through Arai’s shirt, shredding it off and leaving Arai with an open chest wound.
The crowd was roaring in cheer, all excited that the Emperor was winning so favorably. Arai could see his people reluctantly in action. He ripped the rest of his shirt off, finding the hanging cloth a distraction. “Enough of the warm-up, right?” Force said as he stretched his neck.
Arai dropped into stance once again, this time flaring up his flames. Arai slashed his arm across the air, letting loose an orange wave of heat. Force rolled under it, charging Arai once more. Arai kept up his onslaught of precise fire attacks, but Force kept instinctively dodging each attack, not even letting one touch him. Soon, the gap was closed. Force tackled Arai into the ground, pinning him and stabbing down on his face.
Arai exploded with fire, knocking Force off of him just in time. The shelter was short-lived, and Force continued his pursuit, punching Arai to the ground. As Arai landed, he set himself on fire, altering the hue to blue. He recovered quickly, leaving Force to pierce the ground where he landed. Arai dashed forward to claw Force down.
Unfortunately, Force managed to slip away from Arai’s strike, grabbing Arai’s wrist and twisting him down into submission. Arai’s hue altered back, as he dropped to one knee. All he could think about was how Force stopped his next attack before he even used it. If only he had gotten that full-blast fire ball out…
Force brought his knee to Arai’s face, breaking his nose after repeated smashing. “You thought your little transcendence could save you? For being a pack of deceitful bitches, your form change is quite noticeable.” Arai tried understanding his words, but with his face in this much pain, he was fine with just hearing the words.
Force tossed Arai to the ground, going with the flow and punching down on his chest with the landing. Arai’s body lifted off the ground it just hit, wrapping around the punch impact. His body dropped back down. Arai tried moving to get out of the way, but his body wasn’t working much anymore.
The weird noises began again, but Arai wasn’t sure if it was even that native language. He was too out of it to even think in Human-tongue. Arai blacked out once again, left in the royal death match.
Arai opened his eyes once more, thinking he had been finished off. He felt sore, but that was about it. Loud voices approached him quickly, so he glanced over to the doorway, forcing himself awake too fast. Two girls walked in. Arai quickly flared up, setting fire to the bed and himself. The flames tried but were barely kept alive. Arai went into kill strike mode, aiming for the blue-haired girl: the wolf girl.
She rolled back with his attack, launching him off of her, into the nearby wall. Arai tried hard at rising again, stumbling over himself. “I won’t let you!” Arai cried out, charging her. She easily led his attacks on, tiring him out. He dropped to the ground, breathing heavily.
“Arai, relax.” A familiar voice rang through the room. Someone Arai had known for a long time, his best friend. He lifted his head to see a man stand before him, still young in age, but not a boy anymore like before. The mask caught him off guard, but he just knew it was Razu.
“Razu, what are you doing here?”
“We saved you from Force. We originally planned to stop him, but you showed us that wasn’t going to end well.”
“Yea, my brother is a lot stronger than before. I use to stand close on the same level.” Arai looked over to see the blue wolf girl.
“What is she doing here?” Arai started lifted himself again in anger. He couldn’t stand to look at any wolves right now, yet here one stood next to his best friend, probably aiming to use him for her twisted mind.
“I know it hurts my brother took your people, but I’m on your side.” She snapped back. “The way it’s looking now, we’ll have to get better.”
“Right Aurya,” the other girl spoke up. “I think I have a plan, but it requires Arai to train in his Blue Fire form.”
“You up for it, Arai?” Razu asked. Arai nodded, and the group headed downstairs. “We have another member willing to help us take back the Yeoux kingdom.” Razu explained on the way down, eventually showing him to a strange creature.
“So, you’re the Prince? It’s a pleasure to see you awake after your several-week comatose. My name is Majik.” The blue creature spoke, not moving from his spot on the couch.
“While we’re at names, that over there is Aurya, as I’m sure you heard me say earlier, and I’m Honyl.” The purple-haired girl stated, smiling as she adjusted her glasses. “I hope all goes well for this plan.”
“We’ll start training tomorrow. For now, we relax.” Razu sat down, down into his meditative pose.
“Yea, my little sister is cooking right now. She may be eleven, but boy does she know how to make your taste buds explode. Well, I don’t want to get you too hype, but she’s better than any of us, especially Razu. He can’t cook at all, hahaha.” Honyl conversed, as she sat herself down on the couch, opposite of Majik.
“Hey!” Aurya replied, sitting down on the ground opposite to Razu.
“It’s true though, Aurya,” he added.
Arai sat down on the chair quietly, taking it all in. He was finally able to relax, but he still worried about his people. He just hoped Force wasn’t too cruel with them. He’d get his revenge no matter what. After all, this wolf killed his father and took his family prisoner.
A little girl with wild green, and somewhat coloured, hair came into the room, wearing an apron calling out, “Dinner is served!”
Arai's eyes widened as he remembered who he was. All his memories came rushing back at once. "Where am I?" That was one memory that never returned. He did recall being kidnapped from his castle one day. How this feat was accomplished, Arai couldn't comprehend. He should've at least been rescued quickly after if they didn't stop the intrusion in the first place.
"At Father's house. These are our rooms. Father took a liking to you. It's because you look awesome!" The red-headed boy got all excited as he jumped up, striking a fighting pose. "I'm going to become Father's favorite one day! Brother can suck it!"
Arai was quite confused about the eccentric child, but he needed to break out. He looked around, trying to find something, but it was all metal and one glass wall. He couldn't even find the door. Arai jumped up and shot his fire blasts at the metallic wall, heating it up until an alarm went off. A huge rush of wind blew through the room, as the opposite wall opened slightly in multiple slits. Arai was slammed up against the heated wall, all his fire going out and the wall cooling down rapidly.
"How many times are you going to do that? It gets funnier every time!" The boy laughed.
"Stop laughing!" Arai spit out after he recovered from the gust. "How do I get out of here?" He thought he'd take a chance on the boy. Maybe he knew something.
"Not again... I told you. This is our room at Father's house. I don't even know what it looks like out there. Brother does though. He tells me it's worth the wait and the training." The boy started working out again with the equipment in his room.
Arai didn't even have equipment. It was just a blank box. Arai felt something, something he didn't understand, but he followed his instinct, dashing at the metal wall. He set ablaze around his body. He saw the wall slit open barely, then proceed to latch itself. Arai bashed into the wall head-first, knocking himself out.
He awoke with a gasp, looking around. Everything was the same, except the boy was sleeping in his bed, and there was a plate of food on the floor. Arai felt his stomach roar at sight of the food. He couldn't even remember the last time he had food. He rushed over to the food, inhaling it.
"Father left that last night after you hit your head on the wall. It would've been warmer if you stopped trying to escape. That's what he said anyway."
Arai looked over to see the boy sitting in his bed, rubbing his eyes. He heard last night, and it made him wonder. Since he couldn't recall anything before yesterday, he was curious. "How long have I been here?"
"For a while now," he answered with thought on his mind. "Father hasn't been much interested in you lately. He would've gotten rid of you if I didn't ask. He likes to throw away his failed projects."
Failed projects? Arai was puzzled. Had he been captured and experimented on? He didn't feel any different since before, except he couldn't remember the past few months. "Why did you ask? For someone to talk to?"
"Yea, he made my room into two halves. You got the punishment side since you're new, and I don't misbehave anymore. You'll learn to stop breaking free, and if you don't I get to laugh." The boy started giggling at the thought.
Arai just looked at the boy, walking closer to the glass wall. He touched it, which electrocuted him, blasting him back. "Hahaha! You did it again! Oh man, you never learn do you?" The boy burst out laughing.
Arai was frustrated from the shock. It was never fun to have electricity intruding your body, especially when it came from a glass wall. What material was between the two of them? "Father had the wall built so there's no escape. Punishment gets rough if you don't listen to Father." The boy got dead serious on the last sentence then lightened up again with laughter.
Arai wasn't taking any more chances on that. The boy came off as extremely creepy during it, and he didn't want to end up like that. Arai sat down and became quiet. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He assumed the boy went back to sleep as he didn't hear anything for a few hours.
"What are you doing over there?" Arai heard. He opened his eyes to see the boy waking up. He immediately went into training after getting out of bed. Arai was surprised at how toned his muscles were for his age. He couldn't have been a teenager yet, yet he looked like that.
"I'm just thinking, since there's nothing else to do in this box." He had been meditating on his teachings from his civilization. He just hoped he learned enough to reach his goal before something horrible happens. He was around the age he achieved his Two-form.
"Why don't you train with me?" The boy suggested, lifting weights like a pro.
"I don't feel like getting attacked for doing something. I'd rather just sit here and think." Arai knew he didn't need to physically train. It was his meditation that needed the lift to transcend. He just used the pain as an excuse to cover up his meditation. If the Father caught wind of his plan, he might be ended prematurely.
"I told you you'll learn. Father knows best." Arai didn't respond, hoping the boy would stop talking to him. He didn't know how to handle the boy's creepiness of his brainwashing. Before he closed his eyes, he saw something familiar in the boy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he looked familiar. He pushed the thought away, figuring it had to do with his memory loss.
He meditated as much as he could for the next few days, but the Father had gotten suspicious. The wall opened, Arai didn't even motion to go through it, knowing he wouldn't make it. "Hey, Tiny! What are you doing?"
"Brother! No, don't hurt him, please!" The little boy cried out. That was when Arai stood up, readying himself defensively. It didn't work in his favor though, as the man pounded him across the face and into the glass wall, electrocuting him before blasting him off the wall. The brother lifted Arai up by his cloth.
"Answer me Tiny." Arai swiftly brought his leg up to kick the man in the groin, but he felt his leg stop by the brother's thighs. Every second, the thighs constricted more and more. Arai let out a cry. "You can stop it."
"Brother, stop! Arai didn't mean to offend Father. He just wanted to think!"
"Quiet Irazen! If he doesn't play with you, he's no use to anyone!" The man slammed Arai into the ground. Arai blacked out from the force, which bounced his body, as he regained consciousness in the air a second after. He landed back on the ground, rolling away as fast as he could.
Arai used the roll to get back up onto his feet, but as he did he heard, "Elitist Strike: Lightning Fist!" He saw a fist crackling with lightning approaching him quickly. Arai couldn't even get his guard up, starting during his roll’s end. The fist knocked him over, back into the metallic wall. Luckily it wasn't the glass one.
Arai shook it off, focusing on the fight. He opened his eyes to see the large man approaching him again. This time he was slower. Arai dodged the attack, taking the spacing to evaluate his surroundings. It was just the room like it has been. It was just him and the large blonde man. He could tell he grew up in a similar environment as the boy. He took notice of the armor, aerodynamic and covering his vitals.
Arai kept dodging the man's strikes, having the superior agility. He had to keep a check on his surroundings though, making sure not to get cornered by the huge man. "Come on Arai, kick his butt!"
"Irazen, I said quiet. Do you want to be next!?"
"Sure do Captain! I'm gonna beat you up bro!" The boy did some shadow jabs while dodging nothing. Arai could only see it because of the current rotation of the fight.
"Elitist Strike: Earthquake!" The man roared as he pounded the ground once. There was no motion of anything, but Arai was sent flying into the wall with the force of a punch. He had to be more resourceful than this guy. He flared up his fire, charging the brother. The impact slid him back, but he caught hold of Arai, dropping him into the ground then crushing him with his body. "Come on Tiny. This all you got?"
Arai pushed himself up, throwing the man off of him. He growled at him, letting out flames. The hue slowly altered to blue, as did his hair and tail. Another tail grew out from his backside, which completed his roar. He charged the man again, this time knocking the two of them into the glass wall, shattering through it.
Alarms went off violently, as both the walls opened up slits and pushed gusts through the room. Arai stood his ground, sliding back as the other two blasted up against the wall. All the glass passed through the metal wall, only some cutting the two brothers. "Come on kid! Let's jailbreak this place!" Arai yelled out over the howling winds. He let himself slide back near the wall, grabbing the boy.
The boy grabbed onto his shirt as Arai dropped to all fours and dashed at the open wall. He barely moved forward, but he made it halfway through the room when the walls shut, ceasing the wind. Arai blasted forward from the released force. He wrapped his body in a blue flaming aura, as he did before.
The wall busted through and Arai was on the other side. He looked down both hallways, and dashed down a random choice, reverting to his normal orange form. Arai ran down the hallway, reaching a door he broke through like the wall. On the other side stood one of his own. Arai stood up, letting the boy down.
"The Black Knight." Arai said coldly. It was one of the strongest of the Snow Fox tribe that stood before him. He knew about her treachery and fleeing, but he would've never thought her to be here right now.
"The White Knight: Prince Geim. I know you haven't officially received that title, but with your father dead, no one else would take it, saving it for his lost son."
Arai refused to believe the woman, focusing on his task to escape first. "Let me pass."
"I'm sorry, but I don't take orders from your kind. Your tribe believing it's better than ours? I only wish I got the chance to take down the entire Geim family. At least I'll still get the princess and prince."
Princess? Arai didn't have a sister. He knew she was lying now. "Try me." Arai stated boldly. He figured this would end in a fight, so he'd need to start it faster. Before Arai could strike, his opponent transcended. Her white hair became black, and she grew an extra tail. Darkness surrounded her. Arai pulled himself back into his blue fire state, hoping to end this quickly.
Arai dropped to all fours as did the Black Knight. The two battled it out, evenly matched, except Arai didn't have any armor like his opponent. He grew weaker with each clash, eventually reaching back to his normal state. His fur became orange and his tail count reduced to one. She took advantage of him and knocked him back onto the ground.
As he lay there, unable to defend himself from the incoming fatal strike, a voice called out. "Elitist Strike: Thunder Punch!" The Black Knight was immobilized as a small hand lifted Arai. It was the little boy that saved him. "Hurry, it doesn't last long!"
Arai snapped to it, running with the boy in his arms. "I'm slowing you down." The boy reasoned with Arai. "I can make sure they don't follow you." He popped himself out of Arai's grasp and pushed him to go, as the sounds of the others were approaching.
"Thanks kid. I'll get you one day, so you can see the world." Arai dashed at the fork in the hallway, as the boy ran towards the other two. He reached the end of the tunnel, seeing the light in front of him. He ran out into the open world, immediately tumbling down the mountain side.
He was free, but where was he? Arai looked around the area, running through it. It was all wilderness, and certainly not any Yeoux territory he’d seen. The open fields made him uncomfortable, having lived in the forest-filled land. He'd just have to search out the nearest town or city.
He crossed the land for days, finding nothing out here. Wherever he was, he knew it wasn't civilized. This area was less barren than his homeland. Finding no trace of much, Arai aimed due North-East, heading back for Yeoux territory. Then, he’d be able to find his home.
Following the rising sun, Arai treaded ground for days, but found familiarity about his surroundings. He had finally made it near the border. And this was just outside his forest. He gave dash, quickly finding his way into the forest itself. He thought he was safe, but upon entrance, he was noticed by the wolf-type.
He transformed, giving himself the quick burst he needed to set great distance from him and the pursuing wolves. Was it all true then? Had his father been killed, or perhaps there is just another war in effect. All he knew was he needed to return home quickly, and careful of enemy sightings.
With his knowledge of his homeland forest, he made way to his village easily, even with all the wolf-breeds about. With each second, he worried more. There he stood on the outskirts of his village, scanning it. All his village-mates were still there, but he noticed them inside with. They must’ve won with no fighting occurring. He heard a snap behind him, but before he could turn, he was out cold.
He awoke held in chains. This made him snap quickly, straining himself to get free. Strange dialect sounded nearby. Arai turned to the sounds, seeing a group of wolves with a few of his own walking toward him. “Don’t tell me you forgot your own native tongue,” the royal wolf spoke. “The ex-prince. This is why you didn’t deserve the throne.”
“Who are you?” Arai questioned, aiming to find why his village had been captured.
“I am Emperor Force. Though, I’m quite surprised you’ve returned Qaraiune. Your people were right about you still being alive, but I’m afraid you’re too late on saving them. Of course, you’ll have your chance in the Royal Dome, as I do feel the strongest deserves the command.”
Arai stood still, as Force left the room. He began the native dialect again, but Arai couldn’t make anything out. Had he really forgotten his own language? He sat alone in the chains, waiting for his chance to fight the Wolf King. Not soon after his departure, Force had apparently sent in guards to let Arai train. They had unlocked him.
Arai began sparring with a fellow fox-type. No matter what Arai tried saying, his sparmate didn’t speak. Arai just asked him to give it his all, beginning the spar match. His opponent did well, but Arai knew he had the advantage. He focused more on technique practice and exercise of the event.
After it was over, Arai sat in form in the middle of the room, meditating. He had only an hour left until the match. He wanted to try and train his superior form, but didn’t want the guards to let Force know. So, he attempted to train it through his mind, just as before.
The time came. Arai was escorted to the Royal Dome, but the escorts were mainly just following him. This was the event to see. After the previous challenges, no one dared challenge Emperor Force. Arai tried ignoring their talk, but with them speaking human, he could understand.
They reached the natural stadium, rocks surrounding a flat terrain. Arai stood across the arena from Force. Force removed his royal jacket and tossed it to the side, out of fighting way. He spread his legs, lowering his center, and readied his claws, taking full stance of battle. “I’ll be generous today.”
Arai took stance as well, still in his prisoner outfit. He charged forth, attempting to ram Force far enough to hit the wall behind him, yet on contact, Force grabbed Arai and flipped him into the air. He pushed off the ground, spinning perpendicular to Arai, smashing his leg full force into Arai. The impact sent Arai rolling into the ground to the side as Force realigned his body to land properly.
Arai picked himself up, only to be picked up even farther by Force, who suplexed him into the ground. Force rolled off his attack, grabbing Arai’s ankles and twirling him into the nearby wall. Arai pushed off the wall, knowing Force was coming with a piercing blow to his gut. He knew all too well how this style worked for strength-based wolves.
Arai dashed back, bringing the fight back into the center of the ring. Force charged him this time, giving Arai little reaction. Force started swiping at Arai, in perfect intervals. Arai dodged hard, even attempting to change directions to get the advantage. It was in vain. Force’s speed exceeded Arai’s, overtaking him after a short time. The claw swipe cut through Arai’s shirt, shredding it off and leaving Arai with an open chest wound.
The crowd was roaring in cheer, all excited that the Emperor was winning so favorably. Arai could see his people reluctantly in action. He ripped the rest of his shirt off, finding the hanging cloth a distraction. “Enough of the warm-up, right?” Force said as he stretched his neck.
Arai dropped into stance once again, this time flaring up his flames. Arai slashed his arm across the air, letting loose an orange wave of heat. Force rolled under it, charging Arai once more. Arai kept up his onslaught of precise fire attacks, but Force kept instinctively dodging each attack, not even letting one touch him. Soon, the gap was closed. Force tackled Arai into the ground, pinning him and stabbing down on his face.
Arai exploded with fire, knocking Force off of him just in time. The shelter was short-lived, and Force continued his pursuit, punching Arai to the ground. As Arai landed, he set himself on fire, altering the hue to blue. He recovered quickly, leaving Force to pierce the ground where he landed. Arai dashed forward to claw Force down.
Unfortunately, Force managed to slip away from Arai’s strike, grabbing Arai’s wrist and twisting him down into submission. Arai’s hue altered back, as he dropped to one knee. All he could think about was how Force stopped his next attack before he even used it. If only he had gotten that full-blast fire ball out…
Force brought his knee to Arai’s face, breaking his nose after repeated smashing. “You thought your little transcendence could save you? For being a pack of deceitful bitches, your form change is quite noticeable.” Arai tried understanding his words, but with his face in this much pain, he was fine with just hearing the words.
Force tossed Arai to the ground, going with the flow and punching down on his chest with the landing. Arai’s body lifted off the ground it just hit, wrapping around the punch impact. His body dropped back down. Arai tried moving to get out of the way, but his body wasn’t working much anymore.
The weird noises began again, but Arai wasn’t sure if it was even that native language. He was too out of it to even think in Human-tongue. Arai blacked out once again, left in the royal death match.
Arai opened his eyes once more, thinking he had been finished off. He felt sore, but that was about it. Loud voices approached him quickly, so he glanced over to the doorway, forcing himself awake too fast. Two girls walked in. Arai quickly flared up, setting fire to the bed and himself. The flames tried but were barely kept alive. Arai went into kill strike mode, aiming for the blue-haired girl: the wolf girl.
She rolled back with his attack, launching him off of her, into the nearby wall. Arai tried hard at rising again, stumbling over himself. “I won’t let you!” Arai cried out, charging her. She easily led his attacks on, tiring him out. He dropped to the ground, breathing heavily.
“Arai, relax.” A familiar voice rang through the room. Someone Arai had known for a long time, his best friend. He lifted his head to see a man stand before him, still young in age, but not a boy anymore like before. The mask caught him off guard, but he just knew it was Razu.
“Razu, what are you doing here?”
“We saved you from Force. We originally planned to stop him, but you showed us that wasn’t going to end well.”
“Yea, my brother is a lot stronger than before. I use to stand close on the same level.” Arai looked over to see the blue wolf girl.
“What is she doing here?” Arai started lifted himself again in anger. He couldn’t stand to look at any wolves right now, yet here one stood next to his best friend, probably aiming to use him for her twisted mind.
“I know it hurts my brother took your people, but I’m on your side.” She snapped back. “The way it’s looking now, we’ll have to get better.”
“Right Aurya,” the other girl spoke up. “I think I have a plan, but it requires Arai to train in his Blue Fire form.”
“You up for it, Arai?” Razu asked. Arai nodded, and the group headed downstairs. “We have another member willing to help us take back the Yeoux kingdom.” Razu explained on the way down, eventually showing him to a strange creature.
“So, you’re the Prince? It’s a pleasure to see you awake after your several-week comatose. My name is Majik.” The blue creature spoke, not moving from his spot on the couch.
“While we’re at names, that over there is Aurya, as I’m sure you heard me say earlier, and I’m Honyl.” The purple-haired girl stated, smiling as she adjusted her glasses. “I hope all goes well for this plan.”
“We’ll start training tomorrow. For now, we relax.” Razu sat down, down into his meditative pose.
“Yea, my little sister is cooking right now. She may be eleven, but boy does she know how to make your taste buds explode. Well, I don’t want to get you too hype, but she’s better than any of us, especially Razu. He can’t cook at all, hahaha.” Honyl conversed, as she sat herself down on the couch, opposite of Majik.
“Hey!” Aurya replied, sitting down on the ground opposite to Razu.
“It’s true though, Aurya,” he added.
Arai sat down on the chair quietly, taking it all in. He was finally able to relax, but he still worried about his people. He just hoped Force wasn’t too cruel with them. He’d get his revenge no matter what. After all, this wolf killed his father and took his family prisoner.
A little girl with wild green, and somewhat coloured, hair came into the room, wearing an apron calling out, “Dinner is served!”