Baramon

Episode 7 – Rock Hard

The conference room was the same as always. Henry West sat on one face of the pentagonal table with the remaining members parked on a side each. As always, the room was dark and devoid of anything save for the table, the chairs and the five members. Anything beyond the table was mired in a black smoke that was impossible to see through.

“I wish you had chosen a better candidate than Eustache Green," West said to the Vigorous. “I understand that he was a sizeable investment but he's already starting to show signs of Ichor Degradation."

Across from him, speaking in perfect English despite his Japanese heritage, the Vindicator spoke. “My profile on him indicated that while he is meticulous and controlled most times, he has violent outbursts 15 to 20 percent of the time when confronted and cornered. Given his reaction to your son's engagement, however, I do believe that he performed admirably. It is his subsequent actions that are put into question."

“No need to put your honour on the line for me, Vinny," said the Vigorous, having a massive hand and speaking with a thick Russian accent. “I chose Green simply because he was the most suitable to meet our needs. You already had Armistice positioned to attack Grounds and his Gym so Green was the only one of our candidates in the Garden that was best positioned to attack. Pity we could not have more time to better stabilise him."

“Time is sadly something we do not have," chimed the Virulent. The Confluence's resident scientist waved a hand and documents appeared in front of them. “Armistice has been cracking down on our operatives and they have discovered bits and pieces of our research into Ichor and Ambrosia."

“As far as they are aware, however," Vindicator said, “this is all another Battle Circle plot. They are unaware of the Confluence VI. It plays well to our machinations but I am still somewhat concerned that they know of the two other substances."

The leader of the Confluence, his fingers tented, spoke. His voice was low, calm and he was nearly invisible in the darkness due to his ebony flesh. It almost seemed like he was just a pair of bright green eyes hovering in the darkness, only adding further to his mystery. “It was under the Circle that research into Ichor and Ambrosia began. It was only a matter of time before Armistice found out. That they found out because of our agents being captured is irrelevant. They will pin the blame on the Circle. That's fine. Our concern is continuing research to achieve our goals." The Visionary's eyes turned towards Henry. “What is the status of Green?"

Henry went through his notes on the matter. “He attacked Cornelius Grounds after our troops dropped him off as was planned. Even before that, though, he was already showing signs of degradation. I suspect it has something to do with Howl's Ability, Hysteria or perhaps Hiro's Focus deconstructing his psyche. It may have triggered his mental instability. Given that, he was unable to maintain his offensive and was driven off by the Gym security team."

“Considering his abilities, both Eustache and Eulogy should have triumphed over Grounds and his Trainers," said the Virulent. “I remember reading his dossier. What happened?"

It was the Vindicator that spoke. “He charged head long at the Gym and expended far too much of his power at once. Arrogance got the better of him. The Ichor got to his head."

“He caught Grounds by surprise," said the Vigorous. “Foolish of him to charge in head on. Should've taken a far more tactical approach."

“Stupid move," muttered the Virulent. “He's just painting an enormous target on his back. Even empowered on Ichor, he won't be able to defeat them all and he is degrading fast. Should he get captured…"

“He will get captured," Henry said. “He's become a rogue asset in my eyes. I've already bribed contacts both in the Gym and Armistice. When he falls, they'll bring him to one of our facilities for termination." He nodded towards the Vindicator. “I'll be relying on your assets to get the job done."

“Naturally," answered his co-conspirator. “Do you believe he will really bring down Grounds?"

Henry considered the question. Then he considered Weed's involvement. “No. Weed is becoming involved. We knew that he always took things rather… personally. He'll bring down Green before he can destroy Grounds as was always planned. The Sensei might take a blow to his pride and public image but considering how Armistice will be involved and the damage that Green's already caused, he'll survive. We just need him disillusioned to the Battle Circle even more than he already is. Then we can make him an asset."

Despite Green fleeing from Grounds likely due to some negative response to his Ichor infusion, the plan was proceeding as planned. Psych Teams competing in the Gym Season had begun bleeding their influence into Grounds from their Inheritance Ritual. The emotional evidence was provided. But now it was time to give physical evidence.

Cornelius and Clay Grounds would soon realise just how willing the Battle Circle was to throwing them under the bus.

“Good," the Visionary whispered softly. “I did not want to lose Grounds as an asset. Weed worked so hard to sway him to our persuasion. He may not know everything nor does he fully comprehend but his use as an asset is considerable."

Those words made Henry wonder why the leader of Confluence VI had actually pushed them to deploy Green on such a round-about route. To have Green test out Baramon's abilities and then go back to the Gym to attack Grounds… it seemed rather counterproductive. But as he thought about it more, he realised exactly why Green was sent back.

It was just so the asset could be terminated.

“Green's fulfilled his purpose," he said calmly. “With him degrading, I doubt there is any more use we can extract from him."

“Exactly," rumbled his superior, confirming his suspicions.

It seemed that Eustache Green and his Psyche, Eulogy, were both just another pair of disposable assets. Just like his son had been.

Henry put the thought out of his mind and shrugged.

“Alright then. Let's see how things unfold. I suspect Green will be apprehended fairly soon."

*****

The Gym was in utter chaos. News feeds were mad with what was already being touted as the 'Glass Gladiator's Assault'. Images of how the huge glass spires that had erupted in the middle of the city were everywhere not that they were hard to miss. A play-by-play of Eustache Green interrupting Grounds' recent match against a team were everywhere. What was worse were the frightening images of Grounds being speared through the flank by an oddly beautiful glass spear and lying prone on the arena floor in a pool of his own blood.

Weed was chewing the end of his cigarette like it was gum, utterly furious. Wolfie stood next to him as they approached the private hospital where Grounds and the entire squad of Trainers and officers that had been sent to stop Green were sent. Reports were swarming the place. Demands to know the status of Cornelius Grounds flooded the representatives trying to encourage everyone to remain calm.

One glance over his shoulder and he could see enormous glass spires piercing the skyline of the crater city. Each one was hauntingly beautiful in its own way. There was no doubt that Green had stepped up his game as a Glass Manipulator. Instead of just clear spires, fragments of glass were coloured in organic ways. One spire looked like it had a Norse influence to it with yellowish runes carved across its surface. Another almost appeared like vines had grown all over its surface all made of glass.

“I'm pretty sure no one would've let Green get this good with his art when he was in the Garden," rumbled the titanic wolf beside him. Given the ocean-blue eyes, Weed realised he was talking to William, Wolfie's Manifesto.

“No average guy would've been able to do this much damage either," he answered grimly. There were at least fifteen spires in the city and that was not accounting the damage Green had done to the Main Arena.

They stood off to the side, away from the entrance of the multi-storeyed hospital simply crawling with Trainers and healing specialists. The crowd that was gathered at the front consisted both of the media and concerned citizens. A little memorial was already been placed at the base of the hospital consisting of wreaths, pictures, candles and cards wishing Grounds a speedy recovery.

Such an event was on par with the President of the United States or the Pope surviving an assassination.

“Ichor…" William spat. “For all the power it grants, it doesn't teach responsibility or control." His eyes turned towards the city. Sirens were still blaring and there was still some smoke rising from impacted districts. “It's like going from level one to fifty without doing all the leg work. Children with that sort of power will be unable to sustain it." His eyes turned back towards Weed. “But still. This level of strength is unprecedented. He's on the level of accomplished Trainers."

“But he's reckless with his abilities," agreed Weed. “Since Glass Manipulation isn't his natural ability, he summons his powers from magic. Feat such as that is incredibly taxing." He gestured towards the glass spires. “He must've retreated because he needed to recover."

“Even juiced up on Ichor, his powers aren't limitless. Good to know."

“His Glass Manipulation isn't limitless." Weed spat out the cigarette he had been gnawing on. “His natural abilities, however, don't share such a caveat. I don't want to think what would've happened had he used them."

Weed's features dropped. “Here comes trouble."

Several black limousines came rolling up down the road. All of them bore tiny little flags and emblems that depicted a single white dove facing forward and spreading its wings with a wreath of olive branches behind it against a field of green. All the inhabitants of the Gym instantly fell silent and formed a path as the doors to the limo sprang open. Men dressed in bright green suits wearing the same emblem on their breast pockets emerged. They all escorted a single woman dressed modestly in a lime green dress befitting the pilgrims upon landing.

“Armistice," William scowled.

A sense of unease polluted the air as the woman strode calmly and forward, her hands folded in front of her and her eyes cast down. The humble appearance didn't fool Weed or anyone, in fact. Women held the power amongst Armistice. The men were simply the grunts but it was the women, called the Administrators, who commanded them all.

This Administrator stepped quietly down the pathway carved through crowd, her guards – the Armistice Agents – escorting her silently. Even the noisy media made way for her but never once stopped filming.

“This is our chance," William whispered softly. “Now. While all eyes are on them."

Weed nodded and they quickly dashed towards the hospital entrance. The doors slid silently for them with no one paying much heed to them as they vanished behind the door. Even Grounds' reps couldn't take their eyes off the approaching Administrator.

Beyond the door were the panicked and overworked members of the hospital staff.

“Hey! You two!" barked a panther nurse. “Unless you're dying, get out! We –"

“Armistice is coming," was all William said and the nurse instantly went rigid.

“Of fuck me…" He bolted towards the front desk, seized the intercom microphone and yelled, “Armistice is coming! All staff! Ready yourselves!"

In the caucus that followed, Weed and William quickly bolted towards the private wards at the rear of the hospital. No one stopped them. Armistice's arrival was on the front of everyone's mind. If Green's attack was an assassination attempt at the leader of a country, then Armistice's arrival was akin to a foreign diplomat coming to demand terms of surrender. The country was weakened, mostly leaderless and now comes the foreign power offering a hand to 'help' but in likelihood was going to annex the Gym.

Armistice would want nothing more than to cripple the Gyms and the Circle.

This is a fucking mess, Weed thought bitterly.

“It's not your fault, Avery."

I don't know about that…

“Just be glad Green wasn't hyped up on Ambrosia. Or, worse yet, all three substances."

Thank Gaia for that, I suppose.

Grounds' ward was unguarded though it was due to any guards having rushed into the ward itself and trying to hurry the Sensei out. William used his bulk to barge through the door, freezing all the bears inside.

“Move it, Wolf Clan!" snarled one of the bears.

William crossed his enormous arms, making a show of blocking the door. “Make me," he growled threateningly.

Weed stepped forward to where Grounds was perched on the hospital bed. The Sensei looked terrible. Bandages were wrapped around his forehead and his torso. His eyes were sunken and even the great mass of his body seemed a little deflated. No doubt regaining control over the Gym's Battleground was taking a great toll on his body.

“Grounds," Weed began. “We need to talk."

The bear gave him a lopsided smile. “There's no smoking in here."

Weed had forgotten about his cigarette but didn't spit it out. “I'm sure you've heard but Armistice is coming."

“Hard not to," chuckled Grounds bitterly. “Your friend best make himself scarce. The only thing Armistice would love more than seeing me weakened like this is colluding with Wolf Clan."

“Now that's just racist," William rumbled.

“Sorry. That's just how they are. They're outsiders looking in. All they see are animals warring amongst each other. They don't see the intricacies and nuances of our species." He shrugged off the help of his Trainers. “If you have something to say, do it now. I can feel them coming."

“Just here to offer my help," Weed said, striding forward past the Trainers. He snapped his fingers and an ethereal blue aura wrapped around his hand. The Trainers were instantly on edge but Weed just waved his hand in Grounds' direction. The Sensei gasped softly. He immediately wrenched the bandages around his torso away and was awed to find there was no traces of the damage left.

“I've never seen a healing spell work that quickly."

“There's a lot that you don't know," answered Weed with a grave frown. “We're here to help. We'll help catch Green."

One of the Trainers pushed Weed away from Grounds. “Hey! This is a Gym matter. You stick to being a Sponsor and training your team. We'll catch the escaped convicts."

From the corner of his eye, he could see the people from Armistice just exiting the elevator. He needed to make himself and Canem scarce.

“We're not asking for your permission to help," he answered, turning his back to the Trainer.

Without another word, he and William strode out of the ward. It was unavoidable that they'd pass Armistice down the hallway but he made sure to give the green-clad group plenty of space. A chill ran down his spine as they passed one another in the hall. He could've sword the Administrator gave him a smirk. He was sure that she eyed William with immense distain however and her guards visibly placed themselves between themselves and the wolf. William kept his eyes forward as if to ignore them though his ears were angled back and his tail was rigid in attack position.

No Manifesto or Psyche liked Armistice.

Once they had passed the group and entered the elevator, William said, “Can you start smoking? This box stinks of Armistice."

Weed snickered softly and pulled out a cigarette. He lit it and let the smoke waft around for a little. “You think Grounds will succumb to Armistice?"

William grunted softly but shook his head. The gesture relaxed both his ears and his tail. The muscles along his enormous body eased off with a few veins vanishing beneath his fur. “Cornelius Grounds may be a big softie but neither he nor Clay are pushovers. Now that you've healed him, he will be less likely to accept Armistice's 'help'."

“I hope so," murmured Weed softly. “If Confluence VI wanted to destabilise the Gyms, they're doing a goddamn good job of it."

Canem sighed heavily and just before the elevator hit the ground floor, he said, “Aether versus Ichor. I'm goddamn happy neither of them have a ready source of Ambrosia or we'd all be fucked."

The elevator let out a soft 'ding' and the doors slipped open.

Weed immediately put out his cigarette before any nurse or doctor could give him a foul look. It was time to prepare for Green's next attack. Even without saying, he knew what he had to do next.

******

The Armistice Admin stood at the foot of Grounds' bed. She held his medical chart in her supple, manicured hands, leafing through the pages with a pleasant smile. If Grounds hadn't known any better, she would have appeared genuinely happy but members of Armistice were encouraged to put on a mask of serenity and happiness even if inside they were raging. He wondered just how furious she was right now.

“Your doctors seem to have exaggerated your injuries," she said. “You seem fine to me."

Grounds slipped on his Sensei's coat; the white and green sleeveless coat with his Gym's emblem etched on the back in bright green. His Trainers stood around him protectively just as the Admin's guards stood around her.

“You know the media, Aurora. They tend to exaggerate things for the sake of entertainment."

“Clearly you were injured enough to have been hospitalised," said Aurora Merriweather. “Further, this rogue Psyche caused enough damage to your infrastructure that the city seems to be on high alert."

“We were simply caught off guard," Grounds grunted. “We hadn't expected to see Eustache Green so soon. Last we heard, he was in another state."

And that was worried him. Was Green holding back? How was it possible that Green could have managed to get from New York to Maine so quickly? The idea of him running all the way was ridiculous. He didn't care what the cartoons said. Flying at that speed would rip a person to shreds from windshear alone. Not to mention there would likely be some sort of sonic boom or sign that he was passing.

“You know," Clay said in a matter-of-factly tone, “he could just as easily have taken the plane or something."

Con mentally rolled his eyes. That was entirely a possibility and given that New York wasn't really that far, it wasn't so odd that Green had gotten into the gym so quickly. Given that there were still so many people coming in to see the Season, it would have been relatively simple to slip in with the others. He made a mental note to review security policies when this was over.

“Regardless of your questionable preparedness," Aurora said in her gentle, annoyingly sweet, sing-song voice that was like a loving mother reprimanding her child. “Forty-nine Trainers were injured and you were hospitalised. Over a hundred 'civilians' were injured as well with thousands other endangered. Your Gym's infrastructure has been severely damaged and for a brief moment, there was a disruption in the Battleground which caused widespread destabilisation of other Battlegrounds across the state." She gave him her annoying half-lidded stare with a patronising smile. “There were quite a few battles that were abruptly cut short, you know. Many required intervention from Armistice to deploy amnesiacs to ensure that your secret was kept safe."

“Quite fortunate then that you were all very much prepared to deal with such a situation," Grounds fired back.

“Armistice embodies vigilance. Unlike some others."

Her passive-aggressive words were starting to boil his blood. However, Cornelius Grounds was still slow to anger and he let the insult slide even with Clay threw soothing images of crushing her skull between his paws into his imagination.

“A pity your vigilance didn't catch Green when he left the Gym."

Aurora was prepared for the slide. “Pity indeed that your penal system did nothing to keep him imprisoned."

“Unlike Armistice's approach to criminals, we aim to rehabilitate those who have wronged us. Not just throw them behind bars and hope they learn their lesson."

“There is no 'hoping' in our methods." The smiled on her porcelain face lost all mirth. “What we do has a 100% success rate."

“Yeah! By chemically sending Psyches into a coma, turning their Manifestos into neutered zombies and calling them 'psychotic'!"

Easy now, Clay. We don't want an incident. Let me handle this.

“Con, I love ya but for fuck's sake! We had a crazed criminal with powers way beyond what was expected and now Armistice is knocking on our door! Don't you find that a little suspicious!?"

It was highly suspect but without evidence, Con knew he couldn't act. At the very least, he knew he had Weed and Canem to count on. That those two made an appearance comforted him. He was sure those two knew something.

“Your presence doesn't help things, Aurora," he said coldly. “You know how the simple sight of Armistice would cause rumours to fly about. It doesn't help that you come charging in with a fleet of limos." Turning towards her, he crossed his big, furry arms. “Now say your peace and leave. I have business to attend to."

“Very well," she answered, bowing her head slightly. It was less a sign of submission as a mockery of just how much respect he held for him. “Green is clearly a rather disturbing threat. I have it on good authority that entire teams of your Trainers were sent into spiralling confusion giving chase to him. He has somehow managed to elude both the government and Armistice troops."

Her features darkened and for the first time since she entered the room, that Mona Lisa smile of hers faded into a frown. “Then, in a small town, he somehow managed to infuse his influence, his emotions into corrective lenses that he distributed to countless others within a week."

A chill ran down Grounds' spine. “Wait… Does that mean…?"

“Yes. He was very close to somehow triggering Malformed episodes in a few people. I know of one incident where a woman was impacted by his influence. Thankfully, she was female and the damage was purely superficial." Her smile returned faintly. “She is currently undergoing training."

“Great. So on top of the shit Green has done, we have to thank him for handing over another member to Armistice_."_

“We've intercepted the remaining lenses," Aurora continued. “Thankfully no one was turned but it was still an incredible risk. The impact would've been devastating." She lifted her head towards him. “To this end, I am asking for your cooperation."

“She's asking for our cooperation? Who does she think she is!? She's not our superior!"

Typical Armistice mentality. They think they are superior to us. They are the 'guardians' to the world, protecting them from 'animals' like us.

“Just what are you asking?" he said with barely contained venom.

“Complete access to the Gym," she answered sharply. “Green is a menace. He has caused significant destruction to your city and endangered countless lives, both of your kind and mine who are aware of your existence and were curious to see the event."

“Our kind?" Clay repeated sarcastically. “Bullshit."

“You clearly cannot handle Green by yourself," Aurora continued. “Therefore, we are going to –"

“Out of the question," Grounds snapped. “Green has stepped back into the Gym. So he is therefore the Circle's problem again."

“But his actions has directly caused –"

He sliced through the air with a hand. “According to the Treaties, regardless of who or what the malcontent impacts, depending on where they currently are, that is who will take care of the problem. We were generous when we risked some of our own to capture Green in the first place. In fact, you are effectively trespassing on our territory."

Aurora's face became unreadable. “Those treaties are old and outdated. You know it. You cannot capture this Eustache Green by yourself. You need our help, Cornelius. Admit it."

She knows she can't act. No one was hurt. No one was forcibly emerged. No one was turned into a Malformed. She can't do anything.

“Like I said. He caught us off guard the first time he appeared. It won't happen again. If you want, you can watch the borders of the Gym just to make sure he doesn't escape. Otherwise, leave him to us."

Aurora closed her eyes and that pleasant, meaningless smile came across her features again. “As you wish, Sensei." She turned, her guards turning with her like robots. “We shall guard the borders of the Gym. Green will not get past us."

She turned and left. Each step she took was echoed by the steps of her guards. They all moved in unison. Grounds wasn't sure if he was impressed by their discipline or scared at the prospect that these men were all somehow chemically controlled by this one Administrator.

“You know that you've effectively given her reason to screen and spy on anyone coming in and out of the Gym, right?" Clay asked.

I know. But we can work around that. The key is that she doesn't interfere with us catching Green… or catching wind of Weed and his true motivations.

“Good point. Speaking of which, we should catch up with him."

Grounds glanced out the window. He had to grimace a little at the gaudy glass monoliths that punctured his beautiful skyline.

Yeah. I'm sure he has a lot to say.

******

Hiro hadn't expected to be back at the Earth Gym for at least another year. Unfortunately, circumstances had dragged him and the rest of Baramon back just as the crater city seemed to have been thrown into a panic. The new additions of those glass spires were a bitter reminder of how Green had defeated him so easily. The convict had been holding back and there was no doubt in his mind that had the Glass Manipulator so desired, he would have snapped Hiro's neck with one blow.

The city was in a state of emergency. No one knew where Green had gone after he had hit Grounds during his match with another team and fled. Armistice's presence also had people on edge.

The rest of the Canem family had accompanied them though Weed and William had apparently gone off to see if Grounds was doing okay. The speed in which they had packed their belongings and hurried to Maine had left a lot of them exhausted. Gabe and Galahad were once again cooking up a storm; their way of coping with stress. Hiro had retreated to his room and it was there that he could hear Taser assaulting the punching bag in the backyard with very loud grunts. The last time he had seen Brodie and Buck, they were speaking with Walter Canem and his Psyche, Wiley. Of the two teams, they were both the more magically inclined.

Hiro, on the other hand, sat at his desk, pulled out his laptop and immediately began searching for whatever he could find on what had transpired. He didn't have to search far.

“Holy shit…" Howl breathed. “He attacked Grounds and his Trainers head on. And he won_."_

Opponents of Grounds were already railing on the Sensei for not being prepared and letting a criminal inflict so much damage. No one had died, thankfully, but many Trainers were injured and Grounds was incapacitated. The sudden drop in the people maintaining the Battleground was what caused the spatial anomaly that had shattered Wolfie's personal Battleground all the way back in Maine's airport.

He was thankful that Weed thought fast. Their Sponsor had lit a cigarette and then blew out a cloud of ash that was so thick that it was impossible to see through. Hiro had been dragged away from the scene as the ash filled the entirely of the terminal. Wolfie had enough time to shift back into human form before they rushed straight towards the Gym.

Something's weird here, Hiro thought. He had Grounds and his Trainers on the ropes. Why'd Green just drop everything and leave?

“Maybe because all the other Trainers were going to go after him? Let's not forget that there are other Psyches and Manifestos in the crowd as well. Thousands. If they all got up in arms and fought against him, he wouldn't stand a chance."

You're giving the civilian population too much credit. Just because someone can do something, it won't mean that they will.

It was a bitter assessment but judging by the fact that no one in the crowd actually threw themselves to help Grounds, the ratio of heroes to victims was very skewed. Though, realistically speaking, that was for the best. If Green was at the level that could topple Grounds and dozens of his Trainers, how would a civilian who was not trained or hadn't geared themselves to fight other Psyches fare?

“Hey. We're one of those civilians, remember? We were barely a week old together and we managed to take down Grounds."

So what does that say about Grounds? Is he just weak or are we abnormally strong?

Howl mentally kicked him.

“Don't you dare say that about Grounds! He let us into his house! He saved us! He did so much for us! You cannot doubt him!"

Hiro sighed softly and regarded the screen in front of him. “I'm sorry, Howl," he murmured aloud. “I guess even I put Grounds on this pedestal that could say that he was at least in the top twenty Psyches in the world. But when someone like Green could beat him…"

“I know," Howl replied sullenly. “Kind of makes our achievements seem… pathetic in comparison."

He could feel Howl pressing a paw against his shoulder.

“But listen. We can't be like Green or Polanzi for that matter. We've got to be satisfied with our achievements and stop comparing ourselves with others. I mean, even if you think about it, we got where we are now and we're barely a month old! That's something!"

Hiro smiled faintly. “Yeah… I suppose it is."

A heavy knock came to the door and he looked up. A big, burly wolf poked his head in. At first he wondered if Wolfie had put on several pounds since they had last met but then he realised that this wolf wasn't the same one that had calmed both Taser and Willard back at the Maine airport. This wolf was a little chubbier but still maintaining that immense powerlifter's physique. His muzzle was a little shorter, cheeks a little rounder but his arms and shoulders were so big that he could barely fit through the doorframe.

“Uh… Willis?" he asked.

“Waller actually," replied with wolf with the unusually long, brown ears just like his father. “Walter and Wiley wanted me to check up on you. Said you might've had a concussion after your run in with Green."

“I'm fine," Hiro answered with a small smile. “Just tired, that's all. Been a very long day."

“Yeah." Waller gestured towards the room. “Mind if I come in?"

“Go ahead." Hiro glanced at his laptop. “I was going over what was being said on the news about what happened here."

“Why not do it downstairs where the TV is?"

“I don't want the TV on while Taser is around. I get this feeling he'd throw something at the screen and I'd never hear the end of the story."

Waller had to enter the room one shoulder at a time. Hiro appraised the big wolf. His fur was a little thicker than Wolfie's but still the same colouration. While his belly was rather pronounced, the wall of abdominals were still clearly visible. In order to carry his immense weight, his legs were just about as thick as his shoulders were wide. All of this did nothing to hide his member which was surprisingly human in appearance. No sheath though his balls were still covered in the same creamy coloured fur as his torso.

“Huh…"

Hiro took a second to realise he had made that noise aloud and immediately turned away from looking at another guy's penis.

“Something up?" rumbled Waller.

“Busted!" Howl laughed.

Shut up, Howl.

“I was just wondering…" Hiro began, immediately racing to find some excuse not to talk about Waller's dick. “What's your ability?"

“Translation: What's up with your dick?"

Ignoring Howl, Hiro turned towards the wolf with the most earnest expression he could muster.

Waller grinned broadly and parked himself onto their bed. The entire structure groaned with the big lupine's size. He patted his belly with one massive paw. Hiro honestly thought he'd see the flesh ripple a little but instead, he heard a dull thwack that told him there was a solid wall of muscle beneath that fur.

“My dad calls it 'Blowback'. That's how it's registered too. Basically, I can deflect anything that's thrown at me with my belly here." His smile wavered a little and he rubbed his belly. “Though it sort of makes me a little nauseous after I deflect it. No one likes getting hit in the belly."

I see… he's invulnerable from the front, basically. Just after getting hit, he's stunned briefly.

“Willis' though is called 'Blow Absorption'," Waller continued brightly. “It's kind of like mine except that he can reduce the damage thrown at him. There's a catch, though. If the force of the blow surpasses his overall mass, he can't cushion the blow."

Makes sense. Kind of like Aurochs' ability. But where Aurochs cannot be moved regardless of how much damage he takes, Willis will reduce all damage so long as it's not more than his body can handle.

“What's yours?" asked Waller. “I read it was something like 'Focus' and 'Mania'?"

“Hysteria," Howl quickly corrected and then withdrew back into the dark ocean.

Hiro coughed softly as he took control again. “Yeah. What Howl said. Focus is my skill. I can basically tell a lot about a person based on sensory queues. Not just sight. But smell, hearing, touch. All that. Problem is, I can only focus on one person at any one time. I kind of get blinded to everyone and everything else around me while I'm focusing.

“Hysteria is Howl's. Any emotion, even the smallest one, will be pushed to its absolute extreme the longer you're around him. Physical contact accelerates the process." He glanced towards the open door. “It's kind of why he hasn't emerged. With all the emotions running around here, we're afraid that if Howl were to come out, things wouldn't turn out so well."

On the way to the Gym, they had both envisioned Taser's raging form ripping apart the streets in search of Green and only occasionally stopping to drag them into an alleyway to fuck them until their ass was raw. The last thing they needed was to be arrested or quarantined because Howl's ability could ignite the emotions of others around them. There was a lot of fear and uncertainty in the streets and letting an emotional stimulator like Howl around probably was not a good idea.

Waller inclined his head to the side in confusion. “So you're keeping Howl locked up?"

“No!" Hiro exclaimed. “Of course not! Just trying to keep things as stable as possible."

The wolf was frowning at him. “You know, being Wolf Clan, we've had to hide ourselves from the rest of the world just because of what we are. I mean, sure we can change our forms and our Clans if we wanted to but we were born this way, you know? I emerged a wolf just like my brothers. These are my powers. You should be proud of them. I mean if you make people go crazy on the streets, isn't that their fault? They're already a little crazy. You're just providing an outlet for them. It's not good to keep things bottled up."

“He makes a very valid point… Maybe instead of seeing me as a sort of trigger…"

You'd be the emotional punching bag for everyone else?

“I was going to go for 'supportive outlet' but sure. Whatever."

Hiro smiled at Waller. “That's actually a good point. Maybe I should let Howl out. God knows Taser probably needs a bit of cooling off after what's happened…"

Waller squeezed his eyes shut and grinned at him sheepishly. “That's honestly one of the other reasons I came up here. Wulfsige and Willard don't have the thickest of skins and I get this feeling that if Taser does something or there's something on the news that ticks him off, he's going to explode. Then with Taser under the same roof…"

Hiro paled.

Oh hell…

“So we've got two huge powder kegs in this house. One only grows stronger the more damage he takes…"

“Please tell me that Willard and Wulfsige don't become even more powerful proportionate to the amount of damage they take…" he whimpered.

“Oh no," Waller laughed, clearly relieved as well. “Willard's ability is Suppression. He actually reduces the effectiveness of others' abilities. Kind of like your Hysteria as well. He needs to focus at distances but it takes instant effect if he punches you. We've clocked it to have reduced the effectiveness of other abilities by 20%."

“Damn, that's handy."

Depends on the ability and how it's used.

“And Wulfsige?"

“Oh he hulks out," Waller said with a big grin. “He gets really big. Huge. Doesn't sacrifice speed either. But that may not be a good thing with Taser around. I mean, the more damage Taser takes…"

“The stronger he becomes," agreed Hiro. “You know, maybe if we combine them they'd actually become like the Incredible Hulk. We'd get Wulfsige's sheer mass and with Taser's ability, he can grow infinitely strong the more damage he takes."

Waller whimpered. “Please don't suggest that. I love my brother but Wulfsige and Willard can be a bit of a handful."

“So can Taser." Hiro sighed softly and grimaced as he heard a soft bang come from the yard. It sounded like Taser may have just broken his punching bag. “Howl, you better get out here. I think we need to relieve some tension." He sniffed the air. “I can smell Gabe cooking up a storm again. He's clearly stressed. And I guess Brodie likes to study and talk magic with someone when he's wound up."

“He has Walter and Wiley for that." Waller frowned slightly. “What do you do when you're stressed?"

Howl suddenly took over, wrenching Hiro back into the dark ocean. “Nothing. He just attacks whatever it is that's stressing him out. Gets tunnel vision." He made a slicing motion forward. “If it's stressing him out, he'll just find some way to get rid of it to the exclusion of all else."

“And you?" asked the powerlifter wolf. “What do you do when you get stressed, Howl?"

Howl beamed brightly and crossed his arms behind his head. “I fuck. Or get fucked. Either way, I have sex. Best way to relieve stress."

You've never been stressed! You're the most easy-going guy I know! You leave all the stressing to me!

“And that's why we work so well as a team."

Howl winked at Waller. “Hey Waller. You know all this shit about Green has me pretty wound up…"

Oh no. No! Nononononono! You are not going to fuck the guy that we just met!

“Wanna help me get into something more comfortable?" Howl was already removing the leather jacket and tossing it over his shoulder. “I mean, we've got to help everyone else get all their tension out, right? Why don't we start right here in this room?"

Waller's eyes boggled. Those ice-blue irises switched to an ocean blue and his voice grew a little softer. “I… Uh… I don't know. We just met."

“Willis, right?" Howl said with a predatory grin. He got out of his seat and wandered over to the big wolf. He wrapped his arms around the wolf's arm, amazing at its sheer size. “Did anyone every tell you that you're cuddly?"

“I'm… cuddly?"

What would Taser say!? Hiro railed. You're meant to ask for his permission before you get involved with anyone! He's your master!

“What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, I get turned on at the idea of being 'punished'."

You're a sociopath!

“Irreconcilably."

Howl gently kissed Waller's arm, bending his knees and slowly making a beeline for the big wolf's crotch. He licked his lips hungrily and opened his muzzle to –

… freeze as the door to his room opened.

And Taser stepped in.

The tiger's eyes widened. “What the fuck is going on here!?" He rushed forward and slammed his arm against Waller's neck, throwing the wolf against the wall and nearly choking him. “Are you face-fucking my wolf!?"

“Taser! Stop it!" Howl cried. “I –"

“Don't you defend this fucking pervert, pup!" roared Taser. He bared his fangs at Waller. “I'll fucking tear your cock right off and feed it to you, you fat fuck!"

A shadow fell over the two and Howl dearly wished he had sprouted his tail so that he could tuck it between his legs. A huge paw seized Taser's shoulder and spun him around. There was no time to register who the fist belonged to because Taser was already getting a mouth full of it just as he spun. The tiger slammed into Howl's bed with a crash.

“Don't you fucking touch my brother!" Willard roared.

But it was a big mistake to hit Taser. A fiery aura erupted around the tiger's body and his stripes glowed a fierce red. Taser leapt deftly off his feet, rubbing the blood off his chin.

“Oh you're in for it now."

Taser made to charge and Willard was about to do the same. That was when Walter came rushing forward and immediately placed himself between the two, holding up his hands.

“Gentlemen, please stop," said the athletic wolf, adjusting his glasses. By the look of his ice-blue eyes, it was actually Wiley in control.

“Why should I?" sneered Willard. “He hurt Waller!"

“Your brother was fucking my teammate!" Taser roared.

“Hey! I seduced him!" Howl shouted back. “I'm trying to shift to my Psyche form here! I thought he could help!"

Waller's eyes were cast down, back to their ocean blue which meant Willis was in control. “And I wanted to help…"

Wiley sighed softly. “As you can see, this was just a misunderstanding. What say you both put your fists down and let's forget about this?"

“He still punched me!" Taser sneered.

“And he still choked Waller!" countered Willard.

Shaking his head, Wiley said, “I can see this won't be resolved like this. So, I have a proposal." He snapped his fingers. “Brunch."

Both the furious tiger and raging wolf stared at Wiley in surprise. “Brunch?" they asked in unison.

“Yes. Not quite breakfast, not quite lunch. A perfect union between the two and a middle ground just like you two would need a middle ground. I won't take no for an answer." He turned around and marched out the door. “Too late now for it but tomorrow, we are going to brunch. And that's that."

Confusion took over anger and Willard lowered his fists. He shot Taser one last look before marching out after Wiley.

Howl just shook his head in confusion.

“Your family is weird."

Willis could only offer a nervous laugh. “You should see us a Thanksgiving…"

*******

There was a degree of honour being called into Grounds' personal domain. Though the Sensei had a multitude of safe houses all over the Gym, there was only really one place that he called home and that was a large, distant manor sitting at the edge of a cliff. As Wolfie and Weed approached it via the Sensei's tram system, they could see a large archway upon their approach. The words 'Welcome to the End of the World' was drawn across the surface.

“You know I'd heard about this place," Wolfie admitted. “The End of the World. It's the literal end of the world. The absolute limit of the Battleground that this Gym is kept in. And Grounds keeps his house here."

“Every Sensei has their personal preferences," Weed said through the cigarette in his mouth. “I remember that the first Earth Sensei loved having a huge ass tower at the very centre of the crater."

“Stone was a bit of a dick."

That made the psychology professor snicker. “Yeah. Yeah he was." He leaned back against the cushiony seats of the tram. Grounds home was rapidly approaching and he could already see a large number of Trainers were constantly patrolling the area. It made him uneasy how a Sensei, effectively the centre of an entire miniature country and most powerful of the citizenry of said country, was so heavily guarded. If anyone else in the city saw this, they would be likewise on edge.

“Why didn't you join us, Wolfie?" he asked. “We could really use your help."

The giant wolf gave him an apologetic smile. “You know why, Avery. I got a job at a calendar factory."

Weed inclined his head in confusion. “You did?"

“Yeah. Tough I got fired." Then Wolfie's grin turned sinister. “Because I took a couple of days off."

It was almost possible to hear the terrible drum-riff that came after the similarly terrible joke. “I… I don't know how to respond to that."

The big wolf laughed and reached over, patting Weed's shoulder. “Oh come on, Avery. You know the deal. I get three dad jokes every time we meet. That's one. I've got my sons I need to think about, after all."

Weed sighed, bringing the mood back down. “Right. I don't suppose they know?"

“Willard doesn't. Willis may suspect and Walter probably has more than I've told him but my boys respect me enough not to pry." He ran a paw down his muzzle, having to quickly adjust his glasses afterwards to keep them from falling off. “Though given what's happening here, I don't know how much longer I can keep it from them."

“Do me a favour." Weed shut his eyes, considering his next request. “If you do tell them, please make sure they don't tell my team. Especially Hiro and Howl."

Wolfie gave him a bitter laugh. “You know of all the members of your team they're the ones that my boys are most likely to tell, right?"

“Probably. But please, keep the secret to them."

“May I ask why?"

He gave Wolfie a piercing stare. “Because he's the Vigilante's son."

There was a moment's pause as Wolfie's jaw dropped.

“You're kidding me… That fucker actually had a son? I didn't think he was actually capable of it. In my mind, what came out of his dick wasn't genetic material. It was the same black gunk that's pumped through his veins through his shrivelled, rotten heart!"

Weed couldn't help but snort a little at the terribly accurate description of Henry West. “Yes, he had a biological son and Hiro is the product of it. Honestly, I thought he was actually capable of some human emotion because he kept Hiro away from anything to do with our world. I thought it was a mercy. Maybe an inkling to preserve Hiro's innocence." Weed shook his head at his own naivete. “Then it turns out he was just grooming him for the ultimate crushing revelation so that he could emerge. Given all the shit that Hiro has bene through, I'm not at all surprised he's somewhat emotionally distant, borderline sociopathic, while Howl is so open and sociable."

“Ouch…" Wolfie winced. “Well, you know best for your team." Face turning brighter, the titan wolf said, “Hey, have you guys come up with a team emblem yet?"

The professor rolled his eyes. “Oh don't remind me. I'll be honest and say that I've lost the Gym Seasons so many times that I had totally forgotten about the goddamn nuances that comes with winning." He began ticking off the things on his to-do-list. “I've got to get the team emblem, deal with all those goddamn corporation that want Baramon to be their sponsors, arrange for secure transport to and from certain areas and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to move my boys out of college dorms because there are a lot of guys where I'm from that would kill to suck off a winning challenger's dick."

Wolfie gave him an apologetic smile. “If you want, I could arrange for some lodgings."

Weed waved away the offer. “Don't worry about it. I've got it covered. I'm just glad the press hasn't found out where we live quite yet."

“You guys left so soon after your victory that me and the boys didn't even get a chance to congratulate you."

“Had I known you were competing…"

“Well we were registered to compete but only when the boys saw Howl did they actually have the courage to step out there and fight. Still a lot of stigma about being Wolf Clan, you know." Wolfie glanced towards the tram's front as the vehicle began to grind to a halt. “How does Howl do it?"

“Honestly? Ignorance. He really didn't comprehend how poorly people perceive wolves until he was already famous."

The tram's doors hissed and sprang open. Weed rose to his feet and stepped out.

The End of the World as it was so appropriately called was an immense cliff that stretched from one horizon to the other. On one side was verdant green planes. It was possible to see the waves the grass made as the cool breeze brushed through them. Not a single flower interrupted the unending greenery of the planes. Past the cliff was a sheer drop into cloudy nothingness. It was impossible to see what really lay beyond the dense, fluffy clouds as they left no room between them. The grey cliffs merely disappeared into their folds and that was simply it.

Grounds' estate sat at the very edge of the cliff. A large, blocky three-storey building, it had bleached white walls. As the duo stepped off the tram station, they were greeted by the sight of statues of all the previous Sensei acting as a sort of support for each of the non-glass walls. Key corners and entrances were decorated with their immense ursine forms. The modern design was made a little more romantic in that it was designed much like a villa. The square facility had a central courtyard populated by a pool and served as a sort of crossroads into the rest of the facility.

Several Trainers came soaring in on floating rock platforms. They demanded to know who they were and how they found this place. Weed gave his name and the bears immediately recognised that they were the guests that Grounds had been expecting. They were waved through the atrium and the Trainers returned to their regular patrols.

Weed could hear Grounds' voice just as they were entering the central courtyard. The victim of the Sensei's ire was none other than Matthew Polanzi.

“You were reckless and incredibly foolish!" Grounds barked. The Big Bear was pacing back and forth in front Polanzi. The red-head bear had his head ducked in shame. “What would've happened had you encountered Green? You've seen the damage he could do! He knocked me on my ass! You could've been seriously hurt or killed!"

The Big Bear whirled around to face Polanzi. “Not to mention what you did was really illegal! Do you have any idea what Armistice would've done had they found out? Or the US Government?"

Polinzi just kept his head down. “I'm sorry, Sensei. I just thought…"

“Thought what?" Grounds bellowed. Though his voice was filled with furry, his expression was a mix of relief, pain and a desperation to understand. “What possessed you to be so fucking stupid!?"

Weed decided to intervene and stepped forward. “He wanted to make you proud."

The Sensei of Earth started in surprise. The pupil he was reprimanding flinched and ducked his head further, trying to squeeze his shoulders together like he was trying to make himself as small as possible.

“What?" Grounds demanded.

Wolfie chimed in. He stepped up next to Polanzi and placed a comforting hand on the bear's shoulders. There was a fatherly air to the gesture and the brown bear visibly relaxed. “I don't know whether you realise it or not, Cornelius, but your pupils crave your fatherly affections. The guys you train under your wing will do anything to make your proud of them. To have you fuck them. Maybe it's the fact that you're currently single and there's something romantic about the idea of adopting a Trainer to become the next Sensei. Whatever the case, poor Matthew here just wanted your attention."

“That's crazy!" exclaimed the Big Bear. “All my students know that, yes I want kids, but I'm not about to drop everything just because someone showed me how big their balls were! Figuratively speaking, not literally. I've seen some really big balls."

Wolfie chuckled softly at the comment giving Weed a second to step up to Polanzi's other side.

“I've already reamed Polanzi enough when I realised his duplicity back at Liberty. You can rest assured that he's very lucky that I took care of the Malformed situation."

“There was a Malformed!?" Grounds exclaimed. Polanzi spun to flee but both Wolfie and Weed – working in perfect synch – seized both the bear's arms and spun him around to face his punishment. “Jesus fucking Christ, Mattie… If Armistice…"

“Armistice won't learn of it, I assure you," answered Weed gravely. “But while I am sure you have a lot more to say to our dear Trainer here, I must insist we speak of the issue at hand. Eustache Green."

The Sensei shook his head in exhaustion. “Alright. Mattie, you can go. I'll speak to you later."

Wolfie cleared his throat. Weed glanced towards him and Wolfie flicked his ears at the bear between them.

Oh geez… he wants to involve Polanzi in this…

“You know how Wolfie is. It's why he left."

Fine, fine.

“I think Polanzi should stay and hear this," Weed said. “He's already involved no matter what and I get the feeling not knowing will only make him do something equally as crazy as he did before."

The ursine Sensei growled a little but threw his large, hairy paws into the air in submission. “Fine. Fine. Where do we start?"

The enormous wolf cut straight to the chase. “How about where Aether originates?"

Both Grounds and Polanzi were instantly on high alert.

“I can't tell you that!" Grounds exclaimed.

“Especially to a Wolf Clan!" Polanzi barked.

“It's a rhetorical question," answered Wolfie grimly. “We both know exactly where Aether comes from and it isn't from some secret stockpile that the Battle Circle has or some religious propaganda that it is granted by Gaia when she deems someone worth." He pointed directly at Grounds. “So spill. I want to hear it from your muzzle."

“How do I know this isn't just some ploy?" Grounds growled.

“We swore full disclosure, remember?" Weed said. “But if it'll help, Aether is produced directly by the Sensei. Not just them either. Anyone who partakes in it."

The residents of the Earth Gym froze and exchanged glances. Polanzi instantly reached for his nipples while Grounds was far more subtle.

“Fine…" rumbled Grounds. “Yes, it's true. When you drink Aether, you start producing it. For the challengers, it never manifests. For Trainers, only lightly. Sensei, however, need to be able to produce it in the gallons for the purposes of the Trainers and the challengers as part of the Inheritance Ritual."

“Aether represents the growth of Psyche and Manifesto," Wolfie stated. “When two Psyches fight and engage their Eyes of Ruin, the create a Battleground between them. The power to do that doesn't just come out of nowhere. When one of our kind drinks Aether, they become capable of utilising the innate tension and conflict between a Psyche and Manifesto to generate energy. That energy gets liquefied and is expelled from the Psyche's body through their mammillary glands. Our nipples."

Polanzi frowned at the wolf. “If you knew this why did you ask us about it?"

“Because it's relevant," Wolfie said. “Aether is like nuclear fission. A single atom being split apart and the energy expelled from the splitting is incredible." His lupine features darkened. “Ichor is the exact opposite. Nuclear Fusion."

Both bears looked utterly confused.

“Ichor? What's Ichor?" Polanzi asked.

“It's whatever Green is hyped up on, isn't it?" Grounds asked, his eyes indicating that Clay was speaking. “He was way too strong. Even if he caught me by surprise, he was at least at my level. Was that what Ichor does?"

Weed nodded gravely. He thought back to the lectures he gave all those years ago, to the briefings he gave and to the results he produced concerning Aether, Ichor and their mysterious third brother, Ambrosia. The words that came from his mouth were all too familiar. It was almost like he was back in that lecture theatre all over again.

Just like nuclear fusion, Ichor had the potential for incredible power. Those who partook in the substance experienced immense boosts in strength, far greater than Aether infusion which tended to come with its risks and lengthy development times. Ichor's power boosts were instantaneous. But it came with a terrible price.

“It was very difficult to control and incredibly addictive," he surmised. “When someone drinks Ichor, they haven't gone through the emotion or physical transformations and adaptations that Aether induces. They just get abruptly stronger. They don't know how to handle their new powers. They become incredibly unstable. Mentally and physically."

“Green seemed pretty stable to me," Polanzi muttered.

“That's because the guys that gave it to him have refined the infusion process but I'll get to that later." He looked directly at Grounds. “Ichor, just like Aether, is produced by an individual. But the catch is that anyone who produced Ichor will be unable to drink any that their produce. It simply has no effect."

“If you want to think about it with an analogy," Wolfie said, “someone who ingests Ichor will be inclined to seek out more sources of power to keep themselves growing. Likely sources of EXP. But their bodies can only digest a certain amount at any time. The rest is expelled as waste, as infectious Ichor."

“Green will be compelled to find someone to drink the Ichor he produces so that he infects them into producing more of the stuff and thus he can drink from them and grow stronger."

Grounds crossed his arms gruffly. “And what? He came after me because I'm the stronger? Because I'll produce the most Ichor?"

“No. He was likely sent here on instructions from the people that gave him the Ichor but again, I'm getting ahead of myself." Weed waved a hand absently through the air. “You need to know that Ichor is infectious and its effects only get worse with time. Once someone ingests it, they will steadily lose control of their cognitive functions, becoming somewhat primal and suggestive at first before devolving into a wild animal."

Polanzi was shaking in fear. “W – Wait… Does that mean if Green goes around forcing people to suck his nipples…"

“We could have dozens, even hundreds of him running around causing just as much destruction as he did earlier," finished Wolfie. “But the effects aren't instantaneous. It'll take some time before they fully become lost in the Ichor poisoning."

“How long?" Grounds demanded.

“Two, maybe three days? Depends on the will of the person and the quantity that they ingest."

“Is there a way to cure them of it?"

Wolfie glanced to Weed who bowed his head.

“In theory, Aether," answered the psychology professor.

But all tests with a combination of Aether and Ichor had proved disastrous. He could still remember the horrific experiments that had been done. Men screamed in agony caught between excruciating pain and overwhelming euphoria. Some even had their hearts literally burst out of their chests as their muscles grew uncontrollably. Others became somewhat exsanguinated as all the blood went to their cocks. Those that survived begged for release both sexually and morbidly.

After the first experiment that ended in such an event, the team leader of the project left. Wolfie Canem wanted nothing to do with such a horrifying series of tests especially when the sponsors of the research considered it a 'success' and urged them to keep going.

“We can't do that!" Grounds exclaimed. “I don't care how dangerous Green is. I am not going to force-feed him Aether just so that he could explode as a blob of muscle!"

“Let him finish…" Wolfie warned.

“There's a third substance," Weed said grimly. “The stabilizer for Aether and Ichor." He lifted his gaze, gravely locking gazes with the Sensei. “Ambrosia."

He only got blank stares from both Polanzi and Grounds.

So he recited the theory that he and his team had once worked under.

In the beginning, there was Genesis and Armageddon. The two eventually split themselves but Genesis and Grace merged back into once to form Gaia.

“Gaia is Aether," Wolfie supplied.

Armageddon was split into two as well, Apocalypse and Armageddon. Armageddon wanted to destroy all creation wantonly. Apocalypse wanted to destroy but only in moderation so that they could keep destroying for all eternity.

“Armageddon is Ichor," Weed concluded. “Ambrosia is Apocalypse."

Polanzi shook his head in confusion. “I don't get it."

“The Rule of Twos," Grounds whispered softly. “Gaia on one side of the equation, stronger than the sum of her parts as Genesis and Grace. On the other side is Armageddon and Apocalypse. Our entire process of Aether infusion creates a sort of 'stable' version of ourselves just like Gaia. If we infused someone with Ichor, with Armageddon, they go wild because there is no one to balance them out. We need Apocalypse. We need Ambrosia."

“Great! So where do we get it?"

There, Weed lowered his head in shame. Wolfie had to take over.

“Unfortunately, the secrets of Ambrosia are lost to us," said the big wolf. “After I left the project, Weed and the other scientists continued their research into the stabilising agent, Ambrosia. From what I hear, they actually managed to manufacture it but another scientist, Roach, found out exactly what it was going to be used for and destroy it, all the research behind it and sacrificed himself so that no one could ever replicate the process again."

“You mean you don't know either?" Polanzi asked Weed.

The psychologist shook his head sadly. “I was in charge of evaluating the psychological stability of the subjects and measuring their mental strength. I never had anything to do with the manufacturing of Ambrosia. That was all Roach."

Grounds' shoulders sagged. “So it's hopeless then. We can't stop Green."

“We never said that," Wolfie said with a smirk. “Remember, just like Psyches and Manifestos create energy between them through internal conflict, Green will need a counteracting force to maintain his strength. As it stands, he's only got Ichor, he's only got Armageddon. He is becoming unstable as we speak and I'm willing to bet the guys that told him exactly what to do and gave him Ichor have just told him exactly how he's going to get stable again. That's why he attacked you."

The Sensei's eyes narrowed. “He wants Aether. He's after me."

Polanzi suddenly stepped in front of the two, spreading his arms wide protectively in front of the Sensei. “You want to use our Sensei as bait!? That's crazy!"

Grounds placed a hand on the young bear's shoulder and gently pulled him back. “No, Mattie. I'm who he wants. To keep people from getting hurt, I need to be the bait." He nodded to Wolfie and Weed. “Do you have a plan?"

“Not yet but we will soon," Wolfie said. “We thought you both ought to know what's going on before you go on a manhunt. Don't let your guys attack Green. If they do, he's likely to drain them of EXP, prolonging his ability to remain stable."

“We've got ways to subdue him but only when he's wild and crazy," Weed continued. “A rabid animal is still easier to put down than an intelligent beast."

The Sensei sighed heavily. There was a lot of risk involved with the situation and he hated the idea of not knowing everything but with Armistice right at the border and each day he wasted not maintaining normalcy, the Gym was losing its own stability. He needed this issue resolved fast.

“Alright. I expect updates daily."

“You got it," Weed said with a nod.

As the man turned to leave, however, Grounds said, “Who's pulling the strings here?"

Both Wolfie and Weed froze.

It was Wolfie who turned his head and said two words that, though Grounds had no idea what they meant, sent a chill down his spin.

“Confluence VI."

*******

Tim knew it was a dream. Or rather a nightmare. He sat on a long dining room table with all the cutlery gilded in gold. All along the dining room were the faceless members of his family. From the distant uncles of the Contestant Caste who were charged with competing in the Gym Season and bringing honour to the Cooper Family to the business savvy Merchant Caste responsible for the family's congoing fortune. They were all there. Even the people bending down and serving him his entrée were distant family relatives part of the Retainer Caste.

They were sorted based entirely on their genetics. It wasn't necessarily through their lineage either. Even the offspring of a Retainer Caste could have the genetics of someone in the Warrior Caste and would thus be promoted through the ranks and trained to become big, burly and focus a great focus on their abilities.

But at the top of the Caste system, at the very head of the table, were the Breeder Caste.

Him.

“Breeders are prized above all the other Classes, you know," one of his faceless uncles said, a malicious grin crossing over his feline muzzle. “You're very much unlike the other Classes."

“I know uncle…" Tim answered softly, his head bowed.

“The Breeders are the pinnacle of evolution," said his grandfather. “It is an honour to have one from my direct line elevated to such a position. Very rare to have a Breeder. Only five per generation at most."

“Thank you, grandfather," he murmured in reply.

A heavy paw fell on his shoulders. Even without looking at the that paw belonged to, he knew who it was. “Your genetics are very unique."

“Thank you father."

The smell of roses and peaches filled his nostrils and he turned to find a beautiful ebony skilled woman with a shaved head slide up to him dressed in a majestic orange and black striped dress. By the symbol of a tiger's paw tattooed onto her left arm, she was of the Contestant Caste.

A paw was for the Contestants. The legs symbolised the Retainers. The head belonged to the Merchant Caste. A tail was for the Emissary Caste. And cock and balls belonged to the Breeder Caste. The tattoo burned against his right shoulder.

She gave him a pleasant smile and held out her hand to him.

His father leaned down towards his ear. He could feel his sire's hot breath waft into his ear and the lust that emanated from him.

“Once you're done breeding with her, I'm going to have my turn. You deserve a brother, Timothy. You will enjoy carrying your little brother to term."

BWOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Tim started in surprise. That definitely didn't belong in this nightmare. It sounded like a –

BWOOOOOOOOOOOM!

He started awake and just in time for his ears to register that they were in agony.

“Ah!" he cried, slamming his palms against his ears. With his eyes suddenly open, the blaring light from the morning seared his retinas. “AH!" he screamed and covered his eyes.

Willard – or was it Wulfsige? It was hard to tell with their eyes and his recently woken state – then struck the gong again and Tim let out another cry before plugging his ears again.

“Rise and shine, kitty!" Willard exclaimed with a big, broad grin. “It's time for our court-mandated brunch!"

“Court-mandated…?" Tim winced. As his vision adjusted, he noticed that Walter was standing behind Willard.

“It's more that I joked you two to eat out together after yesterday's altercation with Willis and Howl," answered the more athletically built of the triplets. “I did not, however, expect you both to run off in a huff only for Wulfsige to decide that he would wake you up rudely this morning to go out for brunch."

“Brunch?" Tim repeated.

“I fuckin' love brunch!" Wulfsige exclaimed, beaming brightly. “Got a problem with that?"

Tim smiled and shook his head. “I love brunch."

That caught the enormous wolf by surprise and he straightened. “Oh… Okay then. Well get showered and then let's go."

Tim mentally gave Taser a poke but cats liked to sleep in and Taser was no exception. His Psyche gave him a mental stare of death before turning around and going back to sleep. With a smile and in Taser's form, he quickly took a shower and then met both Wulfsige and Walter at the front door of Weed's homestead. Two buggies were already waiting for them outside as it seemed that the two wolves of the Canem family had driven all the way down from their own home just for this occasion. Tim could hear Wolfie speaking with Weed in the den and while he smelled Willis, he wasn't sure where the more portly of the triplets were.

It went without saying that he had to take the buggy with Walter as Wulfsige was simply too big to fit anyone else in his buggy.

“Thanks for doing this, by the way," he said as Walter started the engine. “And sorry for what happened last night. Taser is a little possessive and defensive of his friends."

He noticed Walter's eyes turn into an ocean-blue which Tim recognised as the way the Canems shifted controls. “Wulfsige is much the same way," Walter Canem said. “He just says whatever comes to his mind. Willard is a little more reserved. Still protective of us and absolutely hates bullies."

Then his eyes shifted again. “He doesn't hate bullies. Just will react violently to them."

And back to Wiley again. “True. He was bullied as a child after all."

“That's horrible," Tim chimed in.

“He wouldn't have emerged otherwise so it's a mixed blessing," Wiley chuckled as they drove with Wulfsige in the lead. “You've basically been interacting with Wulfsige most of the time. He's the more outgoing of the pair. Willard likes to keep to himself. I worry for him sometimes. He tends to bottle up his emotions."

Wulfsige threw them a foul stare over his shoulder. “I can hear you both, you know! These ears aren't just for show!"

Wiley grinned sheepishly at his brother and offered a consolatory wave. “Sorry!"

The bigger wolf brother huffed and turned away again.

“Honestly though, it's nice to see him and Willard so social," Wiley said. “Normally they just let their fists do the talking but I guess with Howl being our hero, he can't seem like a brute in front of everyone."

“A brute?" Tim repeated. “I dunno. He kind of seems a lot like Taser. Wulfsige I mean. Wears his heart on his sleeve."

“But that's only to keep things hidden, isn't that right?" countered Wiley. “He throws aggression and shock tactics at people to keep them off the truth. For Wulfsige and Willard, it's a little different. Wulfsige is completely honest and will say whatever is on his mind. Willard will let his fists do the talking so long as he keeps people at arm's length. Of course there are exceptions but they've both been hurt far too often to just be trusting with anyone."

I think I get it… Tim mused.

“Wulfsige is honest with everyone and expects the same degree of honesty from everyone else. Willard keeps things to himself because he feels he can't trust anyone else. The two parallels of trust but both hinged on the axis of being hurt by betrayal."

Wiley's expression darkened and he let out a soft sigh. His eyes shifted to their lighter, ice-blue and Walter took over once more.

“You're not wrong," whispered the Manifesto softly. “So it's genuinely nice to see them both interacting with other people apart from his immediate family." He gave Tim a lopsided smile. “Even if it is with aggression."

Tim laughed softly and waved away the thought. “Don't think of it. Taser loves a challenge. The more he gets hurt, the stronger he gets. Little bit of a masochist in that way."

A soft mental snort filled his mind as Taser woke.

“You talkin' 'bout me?"

He smiled and nodded towards their lupine driver. “Looks like Taser is awake. I'll let him drive."

“Wait," Walter said, quickly seizing his paw. “Why is it that you don't take control much? The entire time we've been here, this is the first time I've spoken to you. All the others I've at least had some interaction on both halves. You keep yourself hidden. Why?"

Tim gave Wiley a shrug. “It just seems natural. I don't like to fight. I prefer to give hugs. Taser is better equipped for confrontation."

“But not everything is a fight."

Tim turned away, his smile fading. “That's where you're wrong. We're always fighting."

With those words, he let Taser take over, giving a quick briefing of what was going on before slipping back into their inner world.

With Taser once again in the reins, the tiger asked where they were going as they approached the exit of the Gym.

“We're going outside," Walter answered. “Armistice is quickly dropping an embargo upon the Gym. Most exits have already been barricaded to keep Green from escaping but there are still some of them that are still seeing some traffic. We figured that this is the best time to have some outside cuisine before we're locked in the Gym until Green is caught."

“Should've fuckin' told me earlier," Taser grumbled. “I'll need to change back."

“Actually, you won't," answered Walter with a smug but pleasantly polite smile.

“What? We're going outside. If human see us like this…"

“Trust me. You'll get a kick out of this."

Still somewhat dubious, Taser quickly consulted Tim who expressed that he trusted their lupine hosts. Taser was nonetheless on guard as they parked their buggies and then headed out into one of the many entrances to the Gym. He noticed that they were going northwest, away from the entrance that faced the airport. He was aware of other exits to the Gym but there was always ever really one main hub. This seemed to be a little used terminus between the little pocket dimension and the real world.

Still, there were hundreds of people crowded in the atrium. They were arguing and shouting at the clerks there, demanding to be let out. Their shouts were occasionally silenced by the presence of the many Armistice guards who stood stiffly and watched them all.

“Fuck Armistice_…"_ he thought bitterly.

I don't like them being here, Tim confessed. Whenever they're involved, you know something bad is going to happen.

Wulfsige used his incredible bulk to push through the crowd. When a clerk moved to stop them, he just growled at the poor man and he cowered away. No members of Armistice intercepted them. Walter quickly explained that since they were celebrities, no matter how minor, they were afforded some degree of leeway. That and they had full intention of returning helped matters.

Once they left the atrium, Wulfsige led them out of the Gym's domain. There was no parking lot of long, cavernous hallway lined with statues of bears. After they crossed the threshold of an enormous arc, they were simply outside again and experiencing the chilly air of Maine and standing just outside of the asylum grounds.

“This way," Wulfsige grunted, gesturing that he be followed.

“If these two take us out in the middle of the woods to rape us, I'm blaming you."

Why me!?

“Because you went along with this and didn't wake me up."

I tried to wake you but you just swiped at me!

Thankfully, neither of the Canems wanted to do unspeakable things to him. Instead, a short distance away from the clearing, they found themselves at a clearing where what appeared to a rather large establishment sat. Psyches were gathered around the large, white patio under red and white umbrellas, chatting away. The double storey restaurant had quaint white rooftops overgrown with red roses and a few serving staff moving about serving brunch. From what little he could see, the interior was a pub of some sort.

“What is this place?" he asked.

“It is called 'Grover's'," answered Walter, his tail wagging excitedly. “Best brunch around."

“And they're just out here, out in the open, outside of the Gym's protection and with Psyches just running around?"

“It isn't like this is exactly heavily advertised, you know." By the look of the Canem's darker eyes and his slight tonal shift to accentuate every syllable more, he was speaking to Wiley again. “Besides, Grover, the owner, is a Psyche/Manifesto as well. Grover can literally summon his restaurant out of nowhere and drop it into the middle of a place at an instant, fully functional. Electricity, water, everything. He follows around the Gym Season everywhere and provides meals for those who don't have the money or the contacts to go into the Gym itself."

Wow. I never knew such a place existed.

“There are other places like this, aren't there?" Taser stated bluntly.

“Why yes!" Wiley answered cheerfully. They wandered up to the entrance of the restaurant. Patrons saw the immense size of Wulfsige and immediately hushed up. Many pretended to go about their conversations but spied at the enormous wolf from the corners of their eyes. Others just openly stared. Ignoring them all, Wiley leaned towards the chalkboard in front of the establishment outlining the specials.

“Not too far from here is a little motel where people can stay," continued Wiley. “Little further away is a whole town that literally pops up out of nowhere from Psyches and Manifestos with similar abilities. Entire townships follow around the Gym Season to offer access to the entertainment that the Gym provides without actually going into the Gym itself."

“Admission isn't free, I suppose. We got in because we were contestants. Even had someone drive us to the place."

Makes you realise just how privileged we are.

“Compared to how 'privileged' we were before?"

“That doesn't answer how people won't notice entire fucking buildings and towns can just pop up out of nowhere and disappear," Taser rumbled.

“Sure it does," snickered Wiley. “You know all those towns that mysteriously disappear or get abandoned? That's because of these guys. Most towns at least have one Psyche that can alter memories or someone that knows the spells to. If anyone ever wanders into them that isn't one of us, they get their memories wiped. If they can't fully drop everything and disappear, they leave the empty buildings there and let rumours fly."

Taser shook his head in disbelief.

“And here I thought Howl was a fucking newbie when it came to this shit. Turns out we've still got a lot to learn."

Kind of humbling.

One of the restaurant staff came over to address them, asking if they wanted a table. Wiley confirmed they desire for brunch and they were led to a far corner of the patio away from everyone else. It irked Taser that they were clearly being ostracised due to the wolves he had in his company.

As they sat down and were handed menus, he asked, “Shouldn't you guys be treated like celebrities? I mean, you did beat a fucking Gym after all and it's hard to miss you two."

Wulfsige's eyes were back to their deep, icy-blue indicating that Willard was speaking. He leafed through the menu with a grunt and set it down before speaking. “It's not like we wear badges or anything to show we won a Gym. Out here, people only really follow the Teams they're into. 'New guys' like us don't really get much coverage out here."

“So… it's like we're in redneck territory?"

Willard snorted. “You could put it that way. Sad thing is it's probably the only place you can go out to eat without being swarmed by 'fans'."

The contrast was startling. Within the Gyms, they would be mobbed. Even if they had won against just one Gym, they were treated as minor celebrities. Perhaps because of the novelty of wolves being in their team, they were far more easily recognisable. But out here, in the sort of transient world between Gyms and reality, they were nobodies again.

It was… actually fairly nice.

“No one form the Cooper Family would be caught dead out here."

It's like they're nomads. They follow the Gym Season wherever it goes. When the Gym closes its Season, they pack up and move on for another month.

“So what'll you have?" Willard grunted. “We're buying."

“Fuck that shit," Taser snarled. “I ain't some princess you can dote on. I can pay for myself."

Willard's features remained oddly impassive even though his voice was low and threatening. “That's non-negotiable."

Wiley rested a paw on Taser's shoulder lightly. “He's trying to apologise for how he acted yesterday." Acting as a pseudo-translator for the hulking wolf, Wiley said, “We spoke with Willis and it's not like he didn't want to get a little frisky with Howl. Wulfsige and Willard may have overreacted a little."

Taser grumbled softly. “Fine. I accept your apology. But I'm not going to let you pay."

“How are you 'accepting' my apology if you're not accepting my apology?" growled the hulking wolf.

Taser slammed a fist into the table and leaned forward, fangs bared. “Your 'apology' was saying 'sorry' not paying for my goddamn meal."

“My 'apology' was paying for your meal!" Willard sneered back, similarly looming forward. “If you don't want me to pay, then you don't accept my apology!"

Wiley grimaced softly. “Is it me or are you guys saying 'apology' a lot?" Both of them threw the athletic wolf a foul stare. “Alright, alright. I get it," he said, waving his paws in surrender. “But how about a compromise? Why don't you both pay for one another's meals? Sounds fair, right?"

An evil though sparked through Taser's mind and he grinned savagely.

“Fine." He snatched up the menu and found the most expensive thing there. “I'll get the Big Breakfast with extra bacon, a side of pancakes – double the stacks – and this fancy gold-leaf milkshake."

Wiley, seeing what was going on, grimaced and ran a paw down his muzzle. “Oh boy…"

Willard, of course, caught on. “You wanna play it that way? Game on, kitty. I'll grab Croque Madame except make it three of those sandwiches, four Eggs Benedict and the Macha Latte with a whole dozen madeleines."

“You know what?" Taser said. “I think I'll grab some macaroons."

In between the two, Wiley just shook his head in defeat. “They haven't even noticed no waiter has come to serve them…"

When a waiter did finally come over, Taser had ordered three mains with a lot of rather fancy drinks and Willard had ordered eight mains with just a single chocolate shake because he didn't want any 'empty calories' in him. It was very fortunate that the establishment used both a mix of magic and traditional cooking to create the meals as if the two had been left without something in their muzzles for more than ten minutes, they would've started tearing at each other… or poor Wiley who had started to inch away from the table slowly.

The food arrived shortly afterwards and the waiter, a meerkat Psyche, dropped the plates and ran. Neither of Taser nor Willard stopped stared at one another. Wiley honestly wondered how they could keep up the gaze without blinking. They tore into their meals without dropping their bizarre staring contest. It was not only a competition on who could keep the gaze the longest. Both were competing on who could eat the most the fastest.

Taser shoved three sausages into a stack of pancakes, lifted it up, syrup, butter and all, and devoured it all in three massive gulps. He gave Willard a challenging look in turn. The hulking wolf snorted and stacked his creamy sandwiches on top of one another, making a towering pile of ten that he picked up. The bulky Canem tilted his head back and shoved all the sandwiches down in an almost cartoonish fashion. Two quick chewing motions later and he slammed his fists into the table. He leaned towards Taser and…

“Brraaaaaaaaaaap!"

… belched right into his face.

Wiley, who hadn't actually ordered anything, picked up his plate and held it up in front of him like a shield. He peered around the edges of the white, ceramic plate, ears folded back. All the other patrons were shying away from the two and he wondered if he was about to die being caught in the competition between his brother and a raging tiger.

Then Taser smirked.

“Well fuck me," the feline laughed softly. “So I take it you can at least take a dick ten sandwiches long?"

Willard smirked in reply. “Way longer, you pussy-pricked fucktard."

“You'll have to give me pointers. I'm more of a fucker than a sucker."

“A dick is a dick. Don't matter where it's stuck. B'sides, ain't to better time to fuck a guy than when he's passed out after shooting his load."

“There's no more satisfying feeling than when getting a guy to cum twice."

“Or more."

The two were suddenly grinning at one another.

“Amen to that," Taser said, holding up a fist.

Willard happily accepted the fist bump and they resumed eating. His brother noticed that Wiley was holding up his plate.

“Hey Wiley, ain't you gonna eat?"

Utterly confused but nonetheless amazed, Wiley set his plate down. “No… No I think I'm alright. I'll sit here eating my own foot, thanks."

“What?" grunted Taser. “Thought this was your idea?"

“It was. I'm just… a little puzzled how you two were both about to rip each other's heads off and now you're best buddies?"

Willard offered Taser a lopsided smile. “Don't worry about it. Not everything can be understood by your books. But you should eat. Here. I've got some to spare."

“Ah!" Taser exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the wolf. “You can't fucking fool me, Canem! Don't go pawning food you can't finish on your brother."

“Fine. You give him some too unless you're too much of a fucking greedy bastard to clearly see he needs food too."

The tiger scowled at him, whiskers twitching. “Fuck you." He piled several pancakes dripping with syrup and some bacon onto Wiley's plate. “There. Happy?"

“Very."

Wiley suddenly caught a whiff of something that had him on edge. He turned towards the edge of the small clearing. He caught sight of a flitting green figure and immediately rose from his seat. A quick adjustment of his glasses and his heart plummeted.

“Something wrong?" Willard mumbled through a muzzle full of food.

“Armistice."

Without warning, he vaulted over the patio fence, bolting straight for the forests. Willard exchanged glances with Taser. Both instantly understood the threat of Armistice. The bigger of the Canem brothers dug into his wallet and dumped a large wad of cash onto the half-finished meal before both men bolted after Wiley. The athletic wolf was better suited in the tight quarters of the thick forest and easily weaved between the titanic trunks and thick foliage. Taser and Willard, who were both towering hulks, had difficulty shoving their way through the forest

But not too far away, they could see the object of Wiley's sudden obsession.

Armistice.

Particularly Aurora Merriweather. The green-glad woman in her long, steel-frame dress and bonnet sat near the centre of a circle of Armistice Agents. They had one figure surrounded and the sight of the big, hulking Asian Black Bear with the spiral pattern on his chest made all three boys' hearts leap to their throats.

Armistice had Eustache Green surrounded.

“Holy shit…" Taser whispered. “They tracked him."

Aurora glanced over her shoulder at them, that smile on her face so calm, serene but at the same time chilling. “Kindly keep yourselves from interfering in this matter," she said in a kindly, sing-song voice. “We are only here to neutralise this one target. No one else. Though we will not hesitate to neutralise you too should the need arise."

There was an audible sound like leather being crumbled. It was Willard tensing his enormous muscles. “Bitch."

“How did you track down Green here?" Wiley demanded.

Then his eyes widened just as Walter took over. “You planned this, didn't you? You knew full well that given the state of high alert of the Gym, Green would've been stupid to stay inside. That's why you 'volunteered' to cordon off the Gym. You weren't trying to keep Green from escaping. You were trying to keep us from finding him!"

Aurora chuckled softly. “Colour me impressed. Is that one of your unholy gifts? To discern the truth of matters?" Before Walter could reply, she waved a hand over her shoulders and turned back towards Green. “It matters not. Do not interfere."

One of the Agents stepped forward. None of them were wielding any clear weapons but he strode forward with incredible confidence. “Eustache Green. Abomination Eulogy. Under the Trilateral Psychosis Accord, you are hereby placed under arrest for disruption of the Gym and endangering un-emerged citizens."

Green smirked at the man. The titanic bear was even bigger than his dossier had put him as. At a tower twelve-feet-tall, he was even bigger than Grounds. Thick, vascular veins crawled all over his short black fur. That spiral on his chest sat across his impressive chest which was about as wide as three of the Agents standing abreast. His arms were simply enormous. Though it was difficult to see through his black fur, the light caught the tattoos that ran up and down his arms, only occasionally interrupted by his veins. Each of his legs was as thick as barrels and with each muscle group so well defines that they were pushing up against his flesh and fur as if ready to burst. Taser had never seen someone so incredibly muscular. Even Grounds was at least proportional. Green looked like he was all muscle. His head was so comparatively small that it almost seemed fused to his torso. Against even the numerous Agents, he stood a titan.

“Humans," spat the hulk of a bear. “You think your magic will be enough to contain me?"

“Magic?" Taser scowled softly. “If that's all Armistice can bring to the table, they're not going to be able to take down Green."

“That's where you're wrong," Walter said, his features grim. “Magic originally came from Armistice. As part of the TPA, we agreed with Armistice not to forcibly transform people into Malformed or force them to emerge but in exchange, they teach us how to use magic. Governments have their own versions of the TPA but with the US Government, no Psyche or Manifesto is allowed in the military due to potential for international incidents and the exposure it may cause. We're also not allowed into certain public offices."

“So that means that their magic is greater than ours?"

The Agents suddenly moved. Searing chains made of shimmering fiery-orange light sprang from their palms. They flung those chains at Green. The titanic bear roared and tried to swat the glowing lengths away but the chains twisted in the air like serpents and wrapped around his arms, legs and even around his muzzle. One painfully snapped around his neck, pulling the bear down to the ground.

“Much greater."

The Agents moved quickly. They swung their free hands through the air, drawing fiery runes through the air. The glowed brightly and pulsed with an ethereal light.

“By the grace of Our Lord," chanted Aurora Merriweather. “Be still, beast. Your lust for male flesh and desire to spill your corruptive seed all over the world shall not touch another innocent."

“Shows what they really think of us," Taser grunted.

There was that sound of leather crackling. “This is bad," Willard grunted. “Get down!"

The huge wolf suddenly flung himself in front of Taser and Walter, protecting them with his body. Before his vision of the scene was obscured by a wall of lupine muscle, he saw Green throw his head back. He heard the tremendous roar that shook the very trees around them and even ripped branches clear off the closer ones. Underlying the roar was a sound like shattering glass. Flecks of golden light flew between past Willard.

Wulfsige, not in control of the pierced wolf's body, growled and turned towards Green. Taser balked in shock.

All the Agents were down, unconscious. Green was once again free. Aurora stood opposite to him, likewise unharmed and with that pleasant smile on her lips. Several glowing runes were flying around her, likely having protected her from the blast.

“I expected nothing less from someone who could bring a Sensei to his knees," she said curtly. Her limber fingers reached for the ties of her bonnet which she neatly undid. The green headdress fell to the ground revealing a waterfall of curly reddish-brown hair that fell down to about her shoulder blades. “But you are still nothing more than a beast."

She pulled the long, elbow-length, white gloves from her hands, one finger at a time in a slow, deliberate fashion. Green quickly grew impatient and roared. He thrust his paws forward. A shimmering orb of yellow light blasted from his palm and raced straight towards her. Taser was about to should a warning about Green's Confuse Blast but his voice choked in his throat when Aurora's image seemed to shimmer and flicker like she suddenly became overcome by TV static. Her solid form slipped about three feet to her left, never stopping to take off her gloves. The ball of light passed through the hissing images she left behind.

“I heard about this…" whispered Walter. “Armistice can use their magic to accelerate their movement to the point where they leave afterimages behind."

“You serious!?" Taser exclaimed.

One glove came off and Aurora casually tossed it to the side before going to work on her other hand. Green grew even more frustrated and thrust his paws forward in rapid succession, firing Confuse Blasts over and over an rapid succession.

“Fuck!" growled Willard.

The boys ducked, pressing themselves against the ground as the Blasts flew above them. Aurora toyed with the bear. She kept leaping back and forth in rapid succession, still in her steel-frame green dressed while slowly removing her remaining glove. The yellow balls just seemed to pass right through her without incident.

When the last inch of that white glove came off, Aurora tossed the garment aside and made a show of lifting her left hand. With a snap of her fingers, her entire dress became encased in a brilliant, green light. The fabric shattered like glass and flew off her body while tastefully hiding any compromising parts. The shards spun through the air briefly before colliding with her body once more, covering her torso and legs completely. The light faded and she was left wearing a lithe, figure-hugging black attire with neon-green stripes running through every inch of her body to accentuate every curve of her supple body. The garment was sleeveless which gave room for the shimmering fiery green aura that launched from her shoulders and to her fingertips. From the aura, two long, black batons crackling with emerald green lightning sprang.

Taser's jaw dropped. “Holieeee…"

“… shiiiiiiit," Willard finished.

Then Aurora moved.

She was a blur of motion, zigzagging towards Green at lightning speed. For a brief moment, it seemed there were five of her on the field at one time. Then she was leaping up at green, digging her razor-sharp heels into his flesh while she rushed up his gargantuan form up to his shoulders. Her knee collided with his muzzle and she used the momentum to flip herself upside down over the beast. Still suspended in the air, she lashed out with her batons straight at his head. Loud snaps of lightning sprang from each contact and Green's head was bouncing left and right like it was the ball in a professional table tennis tournament.

Gravity eventually took hold of her. Aurora somersaulted in the air. Her heels slammed into Green's back which propelled her across the clearing where she landed on her feet. Green was forced to stagger forward from the impact and collapsed onto one knee.

“You are nothing but beasts in Our Lord's eyes," Aurora said darkly. “The wretched creatures who have succumbed to their more bestial nature and have turned their backs to Our One True God."

Taser leaned towards Walter. “She's talking about the Christian God?"

“Of sorts," whispered Walter back. “They just interpret Genesis, Grace and Gaia to be the one God. You know, Holy Trinity of God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus lines up with Genesis, Grace and Gaia."

A soft chuckle came from Green.

“Pretty speech, little lady," grunted the bear. The hulking ursine rose, rolling his shoulders. There was no evidence of damage to his features. “But you forget." He turned towards her, his back to the three boys. “Even gods can die." He pointed accusingly at her. “And in order to attack me, you had to drop your protective spells. Now my ability just hit you."

Aurora's eyes bulged. “What? I –" She suddenly choked and clutched her chest. Her cheeks puffed out and she made terrible retching noises. “Damn…"

“What just happened?" Willard demanded.

Taser grit his teeth in fury. “Eustache Green's ability. Dizzying Touch. Physical contact with him induces feelings of nausea, dizziness and sickness."

“So at a range he can throw those yellow bolts," muttered Walter. “And at short range, touching him makes you watch to lose your lunch."

“Makes me wish I hadn't eaten…" grumbled the towering Canem brother.

Green's thunderous chuckle filled the clearing as the bear advanced upon the Armistice Administrator. “You can't beat me, little girl. Grounds couldn't beat me. You can't either."

Aurora spat, straightening. Though she tried to look tough, he features were pallid and she was swaying slightly. “Your paltry tricks won't stop me, Green. I'm just getting started!"

She rushed forward, once again becoming nothing more than a blur. She appeared to Green's left and the bear swiped at her. His huge arm just passed through a faded image of her and she was suddenly to his right. Her electrified batons slammed into Green's sides, right where his kidneys were and shot thousands of volts right into his body.

“I don't have to touch you to inflict damage," she said with a vicious grin.

Then she realised he wasn't flinching. The menacing grin on her features was enough to send her face falling.

“That tickles."

His arm came rushing at her –

And magic caused the air to sizzle. Lightning, fire and ice slammed into Green's arm just as arcane runes surrounded Aurora. She instantly vanished in a blast of light and a small 'popping' noise only to appear right next to Walter. The leaner of the Canems panted, wiping his brow.

“Multiple spells at once?" Aurora asked, amazed. “Few of your kind can achieve such a thing."

“It's my ability," Walter said with a wry smile. “Simulcast. I can throw a variety of spells all at once but with reduced power. Though it's a little tasking."

He shut his eyes briefly and when he opened them, they were a bright ice-blue once more. Wiley, in control, straightened and let out a soft sigh.

“And my ability is Managest," breathed the Psyche. “I can absorb magical energies from around me to offset Walter's rapid use of our stamina." He nodded curtly towards Aurora. “Milady."

Surprised by the sudden gentlemanly demeanour, she smiled softly and turned back towards Green. Then her eyes widened.

“No… There's nothing stopping him from escaping!"

Green grinned at her. “How observant of you. Now if you don't mind –"

A tremendous roar like a clap of thunder erupted from behind her. Willard came barrelling out of the forest. Though slightly shorter than Green, the titanic wolf was still big enough to give the ursine a moment of surprise. Willard collided with Green, pushing the huge wolf back several feet and upturning the earth around them with the impact. Willard's muscles bunched with the effort, veins popping up all over his body as he clasped paws with the bear.

“Shit!" Taser cried. “He's going to get hit by Green's Dizzying Touch!"

“Willard is in control," said Walter. “His Suppression ability will weaken Green's impact on him but not by much! We've got to move now!"

Aurora bolted forward. “Follow my lead!"

Walter immediately followed her swinging his paws through the air. “At your command, milady!"

Elemental fury bombarded Green from all directions as the two struck him from a distance while Willard kept the big bear's paws occupied. Green was growing increasingly frustrated but Taser found himself unable to move let alone do anything. He was nowhere near as big as Willard and his magical skills were incredibly limited. He thought about summoning his earth spear but then he remembered how the chains of the Agents shattered so easily with a simple roar from Green.

“We've got to do something!"

Wait! I know what we can do!

“I'm all ears."

Trigger our Eyes of Ruin!

“What? Why?"

Because it'll keep him from escaping!

Taser immediately understood what Tim was saying and grinned. He rushed forward. He leapt up onto Willard's back, clawing his way up the wolf's mountainous back until he was hanging from the big lupine's shoulders.

“Hey Green!" he hollered.

And Green's eyes locked with his.

“Gotcha."

Green's dark eyes flashed and a spark of energy erupted from between them. That small spark erupted and rapidly spread outwards. All colour became muted, a grey filter descending upon the Battleground. The Agents vanished with the creation but both Willard, Walter and even Aurora stayed.

“What the…?" Green growled.

Willard was similarly stunned by the move and Green pounced on that and knocked the wolf's paws out of his own. He shouldered Willard back and took a few steps to retreat.

“What did you do!?" demanded the ursine.

“Triggered a Battleground, fucker," said Taser with a grin as he leapt off Willard's back. “No escaping now, asshole. You can't just run off and disappear into the horizon. Now you have to beat us if you want to escape."

Aurora let out a musical laugh. “I never thought your little ability to hide behind these pocket dimensions would be so useful." She swung her batons through the air, lightning crackling from them. “Now we can at least prevent any collateral damage. Good work."

Feeling confident, Taser crouched slightly, claws out of their sheathes. “Alright you roid-raging bastard. Let's go!"

Green let out a furious roar and charged straight at him. Aurora was suddenly running in parallel of him and throwing a golden chain across from him. Wiley was there to catch the chain and pull it taut. The black bear slammed into the chain but didn't even stop and shattered it in an instant. Both of the combatants on either end of the chain were hurled back and as they tumbled through the ground, Green fired two yellow bolts at them. One struck Wiley on the chest and the other hid Aurora's back. Both went down, their limbs overcome by spasms as their bodily controls were scrambled.

“Asshole!" Willard roared. “No one hurts my brother!"

He charged forward only for Green to duck his blow and send a crippling punch straight into Willard's stomach. Combined with his Dizzying Touch, the gut blow caused Willard to become sick and for his brunch to come rushing out in a gush.

“Oh hell…" Taser whimpered.

Green turned to him with a vicious grin on his muzzle. “You were the one that engaged the Battleground. So I just need to make you cum. Just you. No one else."

“You can fucking well try!"

Taser snapped his paw to the right and the earth shot up to form his spear.

Look out!

Tim's warning came just at the last second and he abandoned his attempt to seize the emerging spear in lieu of rolling to the left. A huge, glass axe slammed into the ground where he had been standing.

“You manifest your weapon far too slowly, boy," Green said with a savage grin. “You're still too new to these powers. You are inexperienced. Too slow."

Suddenly Green was right in front of him and a huge paw seized his arms. They were wrenched upwards, nearly pulling them out of their sockets. Taser howled in agony. He was brought to eyelevel with Green.

“You will make me even stronger," growled the bear. “More EXP. I need more of it. I'll become much stronger. Give it to me!"

Taser roared but found himself helpless. Thought the pain that shot through his arms filled his blood with fury, triggering his ability, it was nowhere near powerful enough to wrench himself free of Green's grip. He could only kick and flail wildly in an attempt to keep the bear's muzzle away from his dick. But even that was stopped with a huge pillar of glass shot out form the ground and wrapped around his legs, pinning them down. It was like his thighs were encased in diamond! There was no escape.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Willard trying to crawl his way towards him while clutching his churning stomach. Wiley and Aurora couldn't move and were just watching helplessly as Green leaned down towards his crotch and gave his sheath a little lick.

“It's over," growled the bear.

******

Howl came barging through the door, his eyes wide. Those red eyes fell upon Tim who lay curled up in a foetal position on his bed, naked and back to being human.

Green had been brutal. From what Wiley said about the event, after the Battleground had collapsed and Taser had been sucked dry, the tiger had reverted back to being human. But Green would not leave it there. No, the big bear used Tim. Poor, kind, sweet, Tim.

Gabe tried to keep his fury down.

“Aurora and Armistice should not have done that," Weed said grimly. “God… Tim… Taser…"

But this is all part of your plan, is it not, Professor? You are part of this somehow.

“I dun know 'bout that, mate. Weed is a total wanker fer playin' with our emotions like that but he looks genuinely upset that Green…"

Ja, ja… but still…

“We need to stop this," growled Wulfsige, once again in control. “That bastard hurt Taser and Tim! Even after the fight was over he just kept going! That's against the fucking rules!"

“He's not playing by the rules," said the wolf's father grimly. “But that also makes him predictable." He lifted the icy blue eyes he shared with his sons to the rest of the ground. “We've got a plan. We think we know what he's going to do and we've already spread the news. Wulfsige, Wiley, Willis, I want all of you rested up for tomorrow. Grounds is going to be the bait."

“Dad, can we think of Tim for a sec?" Wulfsige begged. “He's hurt! Can't we put this off for one day?"

“The longer we wait, the longer Green has to plan and he might strike at others," Walter said grimly, a frown across his muzzle. “I hate to say it but we can't spend any time licking our wounds."

Buck stamped a foot into the ground, causing the floor beneath him to crack. “That's messed up, bro! You'd want to take a breather if it was one of your brothers that was just raped in the middle of the woods while others watched!"

“We tried everything we could!" Wulfsige protested. “Green was just too strong!"

Waller stood in the middle of the circle, holding up his paws. “Come on guys. Let's not fight. I mean, we can sort this out, right? Let's just take a second to breathe and –"

“We're you listening, Waller?" Wiley demanded. “We don't have time."

“We have time enough for this!" roared Wulfsige.

“Yeah!" Buck chimed in. “The shit isn't going down until tomorrow, right? Can we just be here for Tim and Taser? Can we just push out the event until the day after?"

Weed shook his head furiously. “After that stunt Armistice pulled, Green is likely to flee. If we don't give him something that'll attract him back into the Gym, he could be gone for good and then we've got a super-powered maniac out there that has no qualms with creating Malformed and harvesting EXP just to make himself more powerful! We need to act now!"

Gabriel frowned at Weed's reaction.

He really wants to catch Green… though I doubt it has anything to do with simply avenging Tim or Taser.

“Ya got that right, mate. Seems… more personal than that."

“Will everyone just shut the fuck up!?" Howl roared.

They all fell silent.

Howl approached Tim slowly. He placed a paw on the young man's shoulder and Tim instantly shied away. Seeing his teammate like that broke Gabriel's heart.

That is messed up, ja?

“Ya…"

Howl seemed lost on what to do for a second… then his eyes shifted to blue.

“Hey Tim… Do you want a hug?"

The simple question shocked Gabe and even more when Tim lifted his head… and nodded slowly. Hiro, now in control, then reached down, crawled into the bed beside Tim and wrapped his arms around the young man with the blonde dreadlocks.

That seemed a cue to leave and Gabe quietly opened the door and stepped through. The rest followed his cue and followed him outside. They left Hiro and Tim in silent and went their separate ways. None of them wanted to continue the previous conversation. Not yet at least.

As Gabe went down to the kitchen to cook up lunch, however, Walter – or was it Wiley – followed him. He was rummaging through the fridge for something he could cook, his mind racing with possibilities of recipes in an attempt to clear out the dark thoughts swirling around his head. But it was hard as both he and Galahad considered doing awful things to Green after what had happened to their friend.

“You were oddly noncommittal to the exchange up there," Wiley said. “Something on your mind?"

Gabe straightened and frowned. He glanced around. Buck had locked himself in his room and Waller had gone off somewhere to be alone. Weed and Wolfie were in the backyard, away from earshot.

“Have you ever got ze feeling your father is keeping something from you?"

“All the time," answered Wiley. “But I respect my father's wishes. He had a whole life before he had us and he gave it up for us. Why?"

That was a surprise response and he turned to face the wolf. “What do you know ze group known as 'Confluence VI'?"

He received a shrug in response. “They are a rumour. Just like the Illuminati or the supposed Majestic 12. They are a group of individuals who supposedly control much of the world. So named because the previous five 'confluences' were when Gaia was formed, the second when the Battle Circle was formed, the third and fourth when the two other members of the Circle were inducted and the fifth was the Wolf Clan Uprising. Why?"

“Because zey are no mere rumour." He jerked his equine chin in Weed's direction. Their Sponsor was speaking to Wolfie. “Ze Professor works for them."

“Uh… You sure about that? You haven't been reading too many conspiracy theories?"

“No. I am sure of it. I have heard him talk about it before to others. Heard him speak to our 'rival' team's Sponsor too. There is more here than just us trying to win the Gyms or trying to capture an escaped man." He narrowed his gaze. “I just do not know what."

Wiley frowned deeply. “Well… I'll tell you what I know about my father's work before he quit."

His eyes sparked up and he turned to the wolf. “I would appreciate that."

Wiley explained that Wolfie had once been the team leader of project that was meant to research the belief around Gaia, Apocalypse and Armageddon. He wouldn't go into the details of it but apparent it led to some horrific things and Wolfie quit after the first batch of tests. However, the tests continued even without him and Wolfie confessed that he had inklings that the Battle Circle somehow benefitted from the efforts of said research.

“And that's all I know," Wiley said with a shrug. “When I ask my father for details, he simply says it is not important now." The long-eared, bespectacled wolf glanced out to the backyard. “Though I wonder if his answer will be the same now." Then he turned back to Gabe. “Why are you so interested?"

Gabe turned away from Weed up the stairs and to where Tim was now lying prone, paralysed by fear after being so brutally violated. Even though their entire society was based on sex between males, there was a limit. Even if battle involved a Psyche or Manifesto mounting another against their will, once the loser came and reverted, that was the end of the battle. It was just common courtesy not to proceed any further.

But Green hadn't stopped. He just kept fucking a weakened Tim after Taser had been knocked unconscious. The bear had drained Tim dry in front of others which only added to the humiliation. That was not a victory. That was just showboating mixed with poor sportsmanship.

And Gabe blamed Weed and the conspiracy for it.

If it were not for them, Tim would not have been hurt like this.

“If it ain't fer 'em th' Gym wouldn't have suffered," agreed Galahad.

But he couldn't reveal his resentment towards Weed. Not to anyone. Not yet.

“I know Confluence VI names all of their members with a 'Vi' as in ze six at ze end of their group name." Gabe's eyes narrowed dangerously. “And I know that ze man known as ze Vigorous is the man who killed my parents."

******

A large crowd had gathered. After almost two days since the attack of Eustache Green and Eulogy, the Sensei had been silent amidst rumours of Armistice's activity and potentially spotting the criminal outside the Gym. But midway through yesterday, an announcement had been made.

Grounds was well and strong. Better, he was going to make against the 'terrorist' Eustache Green. Each of the admittedly beautiful eyesores that had been created by Green around the city would be destroyed. It would be a great ceremony. Grounds would stand in front of the glass spires and with great fanfare, shatter them one by one.

News spread both inside and outside of the Gym.

And that was the bait.

The event was broadcast on all channels. Not a single minute of it would be missed. Huge crowds had gathered and they all watched in anticipation as their Sensei took the stage. They roared in approval and Grounds, in nothing but his Sensei's coat, stepped up to the podium.

“Two days ago, our beloved home was attacked by a madman," began the Big Bear. “A man who was fixated on the aspect of beauty and public approval. This was Eustache Green. He was once an artist of moderate renown. However, he became jealous of other's success and he attacked them. Now, he strikes at us with these gaudy monument begging for our attention. He struck at me in the hope of becoming a household name."

Grounds lifted a finger. “I have one word for people like that: terrorist."

The crowd cheered in approval.

“Well congratulations, Mr. Green," Grounds growled. “Your name is now on the lips of every man, woman and child in this Gym. But you will not have an enduring legacy that will remain to mar my home." He pointed angrily at the spire of glass behind him. “Your obnoxious sculptures not only lack a unique voice but are like a cancerous growth upon what this fair city stands for. And just like any cancer, it must be excised!"

Again, another roar of approval. Grounds scanned the crowd, looking for that familiar Asian Black Bear as large as a truck. Nothing so far. He began to wonder if this plan would work at all.

“Listen to me well, Green," he bellowed. “All your works did is provide a contrast against something that was always great. It's presence against the Gym and the city is all that makes it somewhat worthwhile. On its own, it is nothing. It's just a piece of glass sticking out of the ground. If it weren't for the fact that it damaged homes and hurt hundreds, if it wasn't so obscene against the skyline of this place of peaceful competition, it would be nothing. Even the patterns on the surface are highly derivative."

He pushed off the lectern and took a step back, having to raise his voice so that it could carry into the microphone. “So I do this not only as a service to the Gym but also to wipe an eyesore from our beautiful skyline."

Grounds turned, balling his fist.

God, I hope this works, he thought bitterly.

“If it doesn't, at the very least we're getting rid of some shitty 'artwork'."

Actually, I kind of like it. It's pretty.

He felt Clay roll his eyes.

“Look out!" someone shouted.

His senses screamed at him and he immediately leapt to his left. A spear of glass about as tall as he was slammed into the wooden stage where he had been standing. The direction of the weapon brought his eyes upwards.

Oh hell… He's learned how to levitate glass.

The titanic black bear hovered on a diamond of glass. How the glistening platform could support the huge ursine's weight was a mystery but somehow, it remained hovering about twenty feet in the air while Green's features twisted into fury.

“You think my work is derivative!?" bellowed the convict. “My art is brilliant! It's beautiful! I put these spires here specifically because it had the most impact! You can't just deconstruct it and pretend that the elements that make it amazing aren't there!" He spread his arms wide. “The entire world is my canvas! I will sculpt it in a storm of glass and fire!"

Green then pointed accusingly at Grounds. “It's criticisms like yours that ruin young artists!" His voice became whiny and nasally. “Oh, if you take away the figures, it's just another Monet painting. Without the backup vocals from this features singer, it's just another ballad. Barring the star-studded cast, this movie is just another superhero origin story. The setting is unique but other than that, it's just another generic fucking fantasy hero novel!"

His voice grew louder, each word shaking the earth and sending a blast of wind that even caused Grounds to stagger. “Narrow minded critics like you don't appreciate the whole, the entire narrative! Artists put a lot of work into the entire composition! They didn't phone it in just because it seems to copy off another source or seemed cliché otherwise! Just like Gaia, when the two parts, the old and the new, come together, they become something greater than the sum of their parts! Cretins like you would make the world just like Apocalypse and Armageddon! You deconstruct everything, pulling them apart and inciting conflict for the sake of it!"

Grounds offered a lopsided grin to the deranged artist. “Actually. I really like them. You positioned the spires in such a way that when seen from above, they form a single, flowing object. A 'G', right? G for Green?"

The floating bear's features fell in surprise. “You got that? But then…?" He looked into the crowd. Each of them were bears.

Trainers.

“You should take your own advice, Green," Grounds said with a dark chuckle. “You focused only on me, only on my criticisms of your work. But in reality, you should've seen the bigger picture."

Earthen spires erupted from the ground, each one shooting towards Green. The Black Bear swerved to the left and right, trying to avoid the spires but it seemed his control over the levitation wasn't very sharp and the spires slammed into the glass, shattering it. Green plummeted to the ground, slamming hard into the stage and sending splinters everywhere.

The Trainers assigned to the civilians immediately turned and ushered them away. Others stormed the stage, immediately surrounding where Green had fallen and preparing themselves for the battle.

Green propped himself up, finding himself surrounded.

“Surrender, Eustache, Eulogy," Grounds said. “You're sick. The Ichor has poisoned you. The longer you keep using your powers –"

The convict's features twisted in fury. “You think that I'm sick? Do you think I'm mentally ill because of my art?"

“What? No! I –"

“You forget, Grounds, there's a huge piece of glass right next to you!"

“Oh shit!" Clay shouted. “Con!"

Before Grounds could react, the enormous glass spire – one of Green's greatest works – shattered. He barely had a second to react and pull his arms over his head before thousands upon thousands of arm-sized shards came raining down upon them like a storm of blades. Trainers, his sons in all but name, screamed and cried out as the shards tore into them and sent them flying with enough force as to knock them off the ground. Pain erupted from his leg and he topped onto one knee. A scene of horror unfolded in front of him as his Trainers, the men who he had spent so much time with, his extended family, were all torn from the stage, chunks of flesh being ripped from their bodies by vicious blades of glass. All through the glimmering storm, Green stood up unopposed, untouched.

Grounds shut his eyes, praying, just as he fell into unconsciousness.

Green grinned in triumph as the Sensei toppled to the side, shards of glass embedded into the Big Bear's arms and legs. He had been sure to avoid any internal organs. Same with the other Trainers. He needed them. All of them. Grounds to give him Aether to stabilise him and the other Trainers to milk for all their EXP. Sure he could take EXP from anyone he hunted on the streets but these days it was just too easy. The Trainers would make things more… fun.

He reached for Grounds –

“BACK OFF!"

He jolted back, pain erupted from across his chest. A crystal blade marred with his blood flicked before his eyes as well as a wall of muscle covered in golden fur.

“You!" he sneered.

Howl bared his fangs at the huge ursine. “You're not getting away this time, Green!" he barked.

He snorted confidently. “Is that so? Well if you're going to use glass against me… you should know that I am the master of the element!" He reached forward towards the wolf's weapon. He frowned a second later when he realised he could not control the weapon. “What?"

“This isn't glass," Howl said cockily. “It's crystal!"

Howl lunged forward, swinging the blade from over his shoulder. Green instinctively reached back and summoned his own weapon, a huge stylised glass axe with a bladed head as big as his chest. The weapons struck and he was surprised that Howl was somehow holding his ground despite himself being infinitely stronger than the wolf.

What is this…?

“He is the Vigiliante's son…" Eulogy whispered.

That has nothing to do with it! He is still a weakling!

Suddenly, he realised that there was a second pair of arms holding him back. He glanced over his shoulder to find the hulking wolf from before, Wulfsige or Willard, firmly seizing his arms back.

“Surprise, asshole," growled the lupine.

Golden chains suddenly sprang up from the ground and wrapped around his arms and legs. He gagged as the same chains curled around his neck in a familiar fashion and yanked back hard. Aurora – that bitch from Armistice – came rushing forward, swinging her batons. Others Agents were there as well alongside that athletic wolf, the one that could cast multiple spells at once. Pain erupted from around his body as their spells struck his flesh. But the pain was like dull flicks against his muscled skin. More of an annoyance than a real hindrance.

“They caught us by surprise."

But the surprise is on them.

He began bunching his muscles and he could already feel the chains starting to strain against his strength.

“Banzaiiiiiiiiiii!"

The cry came from above and Green was momentarily distracted. One look up and he caught sight of the two cloven feet before they collided with his face. This time the pain was no annoying. It really hurt. His brain felt like it had been knocked around in his skull several times and his jaw snapped with an audible crack. A coppery tasted exploded from his muzzle. The stage slammed into his face, wood shattering and splinters stabbing at his face.

Brodie leapt off the convict, grinning broadly and swiping his thumb against his nose. “And stay down, motherfucker!"

Green sneered. “Bastards!"

All the glass shards littering the ground suddenly began to vibrate. They abruptly leapt into the air, forming an enormous, glass fist hovering right over him.

“Die!"

The fist rushed forward towards the gathered group.

A big wolf, on he had never seen before with a rather pronounced belly, sprang in front of them all, puffing out his belly. Green grinned in confidence… until his manifested glass fist slammed into the large, lupine belly and just bounced off!

What the hell!?

The fist spiralled back into the air, shattering from the impact. The wolf fell back into the arms of his friends and allies, looking a little stunned.

“Stay focused, Eustache!"

I know! I know!

He struggled against the chains. A huge foot slammed against his back, pushing him back into the ground.

“You won't be getting up again," growled Willard. “You hurt a friend of mine. Now you get hurt."

He turned his head towards the wolf, grinning viciously. “You think so, huh?" He suddenly opened his muzzle. A blast of yellow light erupted from deep within his throat and struck the giant wolf. Willard stumbled back, clutching his face. That was the last movement that would make sense for him.

Suddenly, the hulking lupine was failing his limps in all directions. He fell to the ground as his right leg twisted backwards. His left fist slammed right into his face and his other reached over his back at an odd angle.

“Willard!"

Green's smile faded as another wolf, the golden one that he had been sent to attack earlier in the week, came rushing towards his fallen friend. He was carrying a… card of sorts.

“A Seal!"

No!

The wolf broke the card in half and there was a burst of glimmering, white energies that quickly washed over Willard Canem. The big wolf blinked a few times as control over his body returned.

Fuck! When did they have that!?

“I think it's time to use our trump card."

I agree.

Green tilted his head back. “Polanzi!"

******

“Polanzi!"

Weed's heart plummeted at the sound of that one name.

A tremendous roar came bellowing from the behind one of the buildings. A huge, brown bear came rushing forward and before any of his team mates or allies could turn in time, a tremendous, furry figure came bowling right through them. His huge, obscenely big arms swiped at them all, sending them flying. The bear didn't stop even when his forearm collided with a stunned Willard, unleashing a bone-crushing lariat move that send the enormous wolf crashing into a nearby building.

“Willard!" Wolfie cried from where he and Weed observed the whole affair atop a nearby shop. “Avery, I've got to help my sons."

Weed didn't move.

Polanzi… He had been infused with Aether… and Ichor. The bear had tripled in size, now towering at an immense sixteen feet tall with every muscle on his body grotesquely accentuated. His eyes were completely whited over with a fiery purplish aura emitting from them and from his jaws. An unearthly violet glow emanated from deep within his body and seemed to pulsate from the centre of his chest, pulsing into his veins like a radioactive map of his circulatory system.

The poor bear was undergoing rapid degeneration due to the combination of Aether and Ichor. He was animalistic, primal. Controlled by Green likely because the primitive part of his mind recognise that Green gave him strength and was thus his 'master'. Weed had seen it many times before in test subjects before they expired… brutally.

Green let out a roar and broke out of his chains. “I wasn't so dumb as to go into this without a plan," laughed the convict. “I knew you were up to something so I came up with my own contingency. It wasn't so hard to hunt down this pup that's so eager to please his boss." He patted Polanzi's heaving chest. “Now he has a new master. One that appreciates him." His smile faded into a scowl. “More than I was ever given."

“Weed!" Wolfie bellowed.

He shook his head. “Go. Help your sons." Weed took out a cigarette and quietly lit it. “I'll take care of Polanzi. Stop Green."

Wolfie leapt off the building and in one, powerful bound, landed next to where Wiley lay, battered and bruised but otherwise still conscious. Green just laughed and immediately made his way towards Grounds who was now unprotected. The towering Asian Black Bear blinked once.

And suddenly… there was a human standing in front of him. A human with a cigarette. The world's colours became muted. He realised he was once again in a Battleground. Frustration bubbled up in his chest and he let it out in a frustrated roar.

“Out of my way!" Green roared. He swung his fist at the man with the full expectation of sending the Manifesto into the next continent. Instead…

CRACK!

A tight tessellation of shimmering bluish-green hexagons hovered right in front of his fist. They beat and undulated like a heartbeat but they barred him from hitting the human.

“The world works on a Rule of Twos," said Weed, shifting the cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other. “On one side is Gaia and on the other, Apocalypse and Armageddon. Both sides represent the duality of our existence. Gaia, the being who is two in one. Apocalypse and Armageddon on the other side, two forces on the same side and yet opposed."

Weed lifted his gaze to meet Green's. “You've had Ichor in your blood but nothing to balance it out, nothing to counteract it. That hunger in you. That desire for more and more EXP, that burning sensation in your bones like the very marrow is afire. That's the Ichor yearning for something to counteract it. You think it's Aether. But it won't satisfy you. It'll only destabilise you like it destabilised Polanzi."

“Destabilised?" scoffed Green, pulling his paw back. “Look at him! He's huge! He's become the ultimate warrior!"

“Without Ambrosia, you will only meet a similarly terrible fate." Weed closed his eyes and strode calmly past Green, hands in his pockets. “Do what you will. You're not my concern."

That stunned the manic artist. “What? You're just letting me go? Just like that?"

Weed took out his cigarette and blew a puff of smoke into the air. “I've given you my warning. Just like I gave it to all those that came before you. It's up to you how you take it."

The Battleground shattered around them, returning them into the pocket dimension of the Gym. Green shrugged. He had come too far now to be stopped. With purposeful steps, he stormed over to Grounds and scooped up the Big Bear and lay him across his shoulders. He turned towards the north and crouched. His leap took him soaring high into the air in one, powerful leap.

Wolfie came forward, pulling Willard alongside him. The rest of Baramon were there beside him as well.

“He's headed to the Temple," Weed instructed. His eyes never left Polanzi who was slowly lumbering towards them. The poor bear's form had become contorted and he could barely walk straight anymore. Polanzi almost looked completely bestial now like a bear out in the wild but three times the size. He dragged himself across the ground on his knuckles and his enormous weight was bearing down on his knees to the point where they were permanently bent. “You all go. I'll take care of Polanzi."

“Are you sure?" Wolfie said. “He's strong. Really strong. He's had Aether and Ichor through his body…"

“That's never stopped me before," Weed answered, sticking the cigarette back in between his lips. “Go. I'll take care of him."

Gabe's hand suddenly fell on his shoulder. The equine was giving him a fierce stare. “Do not let him die."

There was an unsaid 'or else' in there somewhere. Weed was not blind. He knew Gabriel and Galahad didn't trust him. After all, he had been the one that planted the truth that the Vigorous was the man he was after into young equine's mind. Perhaps it was a desire to be caught. Perhaps it was just the same desire that drove him to push the limits of reality; that desire for a challenge. Either way, he knew that if Polanzi died, he would feel the wrath of Gabe… and the rest of Baramon.

There was a reason why he didn't step into the battlefields after all.

“I'll do my best."

That was good enough for his team and Howl told them that they had to hurry and save Grounds. Baramon, Usagi-Okami and the remnants of Armistice rushed after the leaping bear now barely a speck in the distance. That just left Weed and Polanzi while everyone else was unconscious around them.

Polanzi roared and tried to race after the fleeing teams.

His reaction times is already degrading. In an hour, he's going to be completely catatonic.

“In less than a day he'll be dead."

The enormous brown bear slammed into a wall of shimmering hexagon, another barrier erected by the enigmatic Sponsor. Polanzi let out another bellowing roar and beat his fists against the wall. Despite all his strength, the barricade held.

Intelligence has degraded to the level of an animal. Just barely following the last command given to him by his 'master'.

Polanzi groaned, lurching forward. The flesh across his body gurgled and bubbled. Thick globs of glowing, purple energies surged through his veins. It was like watching large, glowing, purple marbles running through the poor mutant's circulatory system. Where they faded into the muscles beneath, the mass grew.

“Some part of him is still in there. He's trying to stabilise himself. Look. The growth spurts are mostly symmetrical."

So maybe there's hope yet.

Weed finished his cigarette and flicked the still-burning nub straight into Polanzi. The ember-filled butt entered the bear's ear. There was a faint sizzling noise and the poisoned Trainer roared, swatting at his ear with claws that could've torn off the appendage were his skin not so resistant. Blazing eyes filled with fury turned to Weed.

“You know," began the Sponsor. “I would've killed for this technique back in the days when we were researching this shit." He made a 'gun' with his right hand. “Maybe I could've saved more people from the terrible fate."

He placed the 'gun' against his temple. Polanzi roared and started to advance. Each step of the bear was a miniature earthquake.

“But then again… had I saved them, they might've suffered a fate worse than death." He let out a soft laugh. “God… why can't choices ever be simple. Ah well… Rule of Twos. There's two sides to everything. Even fate."

Polanzi began a charge, roaring madly and salivating like a rabid beast.

He pulled the trigger of his gun.

There was a sound like shattering glass and a burst of shimmering white light erupted from the other side of his head as if he had literally just blown his own brains out. From the light, a golden handgun came flying out. He immediately caught it before it got too far.

“Armorial Arsenal…" he whispered to himself softly.

Polanzi pounced upon him…

… and suddenly he was pressed right up against the bear, the golden gun pressed up against the Trainer's chin.

In unison, he and Primal cried, “… Null Creation!"

He pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

A burst of spectacular white light erupted from the gun, shot right through Polanzi's skull and had enough strength to blast out from the back of the bear's head. All forward momentum from the titanic bear was immediately reversed and doubled. The former Trainer was hurled back, thrown a full eight feet into the air before coming crashing to the ground with a thunderous whump. Strangely, there was no wound to his head.

Instead, Polanzi clutched his head with both paws and let out a trumpeting cry. His massive, dick immediately filled with blood and without warning or ceremony, the tremendous, vascular length shot its load. The bear roared, thrusting his hips high into the air in an almost painful looking arc. The fluid that came shooting out of his cum was not the sticky, white fluids of semen, however. Almost like a spiralling double helix, a band of glowing red liquid curled around its twin, a shimmering blue fluid. Both twisted through the air as it shot straight out of Polanzi, taking with it the bear's enormous size and grotesque muscular frame. Every muscle on Polanzi's body deflated as more and more of the mysterious fluids were pumped out of him. The network of veins pressed up his flesh faded back into his body, sinking beneath the brown fur and only showing here and there in tasteful ways.

The glowing fluids never hit the ground. While they spiralled through the air, they became encased in a blistering white fire and evaporated right there, in mid-air.

“The substance of creation and the blood of the gods are not for mere mortals to consume," Weed sighed. “And yet we still try and look for the elusive Holy Grail, the Food of the Gods… Ambrosia. Only when all three are together in a suitable host, in the perfect balance will we transcend this existence and become immortal."

“Roach's words to us," sighed Primal. His Psyche's voice did not echoed in his head as it always did. It came from his gun, a huge golden weapon akin to the tremendous Desert Eagles. “They stuck."

“Yeah… they did."

“Hey… Uh, Avery? Can I come back in now?"

Weed smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Primal. We still have one more thing to do." he asked.

“Alright… I can hold on until then."

“I'm glad," Weed answered. He turned in the direction of where the others had departed. “I certainly hope everyone else finds a way to defeat Green. We can't do that again today without severely injuring both of us."

“Yeah. I'm not ready to be away from you yet."

He chuckled softly. “I don't think I could ever live without your incessant reprimands about my smoking habits."

“I'm always going to be here to keep lung cancer at bay."

Weed closed his eyes and just smiled to himself.

******

“Open it!" Green demanded. “Give me the Aether!"

Grounds could only smirk weakly as the titanic Black Bear loomed over him. Every part of his body hurt. His opponent had not been very gentle with his demands. Clay was working overtime to heal his injuries but Green just kept kicking or punching with inflicted more and more wounds upon him. The Temple had been abandoned. They had known and planned that Green would likely take him here if he was captured.

At least my boys are safe, he thought sadly.

“What is wrong with you, old man!" Green roared. He seized Grounds by the fur on his chest and pulled him upwards. “I can kill you right here and right now! I can end the line of the Earth Sensei! You won't have anyone to pass your knowledge onto!"

He could only chuckle bitterly.

“That's the one weakness of the Battle Circle," sneered Green. “Don't you get it!? If the Sensei dies, that's it! All that knowledge, all that power, it can't be passed on anymore! All of it is lost!"

“Is that what you think?" he snorted back. “What about the Trainers? They inherit my power too. Yeah, it's not to the same degree as one Sensei to another but it's enough." Grounds shut his eyes, a contented smile on his muzzle. “It'll be enough…"

Green roared in frustration and threw him to the ground. The impact hurt but the sense of satisfaction that he had cornered Green eased the agony. He rolled onto his back. The giant, grey doors that would lead into the Ritual Chamber where Inheritance would occur was just a few feet from him. It would forever remain closed to Green.

“How is this any different to those kids you beat up in the arena in front of everyone?" bellowed Green. “I beat you! Just because I did it so easily, you won't give me what's rightfully mine!?"

The Big Bear shook his head, still lying spreadeagled on the ground. “You don't get it. It isn't about beating me. It's about the spirit of competition. It's about earning it. You think you've earned the right to be here in front of these doors?"

“Yes!" howled Green.

God… that's just sad.

“You're wrong. You did nothing to earn getting here. You got jacked up on Ichor. You hurt people you were jealous of." Grounds found the strength to prop himself up, locking gazes with the raging bear in front of him. “You don't even know what the Ichor is doing to your body."

Green's features twisted into a scowl. “It's made me stronger! Stronger than you'll ever be!" He spat. A slimy wad landed between Grounds' feet. “You know what? I don't need your Aether. I keep getting told that without Aether, the Ichor will eat away at me. But fuck that. I don't need it."

“How many people have you defeated in EXP battles since you got addicted to Ichor?" Grounds said. For a second, there was confusion on Green's face. He took advantage of that and continued. “Plenty, am I right? You fought a hell of a lot in the prison. I read the reports. Even encased in stone, you still fought your fellow inmates. Sucked them off. Drew their EXP. Both inside and outside of the training battles that our officers encourage to help rehabilitate you. But just how much stronger have you gotten since then?"

The former artist just smirked and flexed his huge biceps. “Do you need to ask?"

“Yes. Because you need to think about it really carefully, Eustache. You too Eulogy. Have you really gotten stronger or have you just mastered the way you're using your powers? Your spells? Has your Confuse Blast gotten stronger? Has your Dizzying Touch become more effective? Are you really casting more glass-related spells or are you just shaping them differently?"

Green's features wavered.

Grounds weakly rose to his feet. His arms hung by his sides limply like they were lead weights. “Ichor… It'll give you one hell of a power boost. But only until you reach a sort of equilibrium. You're naturally growing. Your cells degrade and multiple as time passes. But Ichor…" A cough erupted from his throat and blood splattered out from between his lips.

“Take it easy, Con."

I got this, Clay. Just… a little longer.

“Ichor accelerates that growth," rumbled Grounds. “You regenerate faster. You evolve faster. But the thing is, without substance, without fuel, you'll remain stagnant. The rate at which you pour in fuel needs to at least balance out the rate at which Ichor is produced and pumped into you or you'll start to degrade."

He threw Green a vicious grin. “Since you got out, how many guys have you sucked off? You took down a whole team that was chasing you, if I remember correctly, but you didn't drain the EXP from them. When you broke out, you didn't drain any EXP either. Last I heard, the only time you actually beat someone in a battle was yesterday against a member of Baramon. Tell me…" His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Did you feel satisfied? Did you feel stronger like you used to when you won a battle like that? Did you get bigger?"

Green's eyes slowly widened in realisation.

“You get it now, don't you?" Grounds coughed. “Ichor is slowly killing you. It's stunted your growth. Sure, you can keep gaining more and more EXP but every time you outstrip the rate at which Ichor converts your flesh and bones to maintain its substance, it will get hungrier. It will need more to stabilise it. You'll forever be hungry. You're going to need more and more EXP to get stronger."

His grin turned savage as strength returned to his form and he straightened. “And that's where you're going to get beaten, Green. Everyone else, the guys that grow stronger legitimately, they get their power at a steady rate. They learn. They grow. They don't take shortcuts like you. If we were to chart this out, they'd be on a constant incline. You have sharp boosts but then you'll plateau until you get your next boost from fighting more and more people. Each time, that plateau will get longer and longer. But everyone else is going to keep getting stronger and leave you behind. Way behind."

Green roared. Blinded with fury, he charged, head down like he was a ram. Grounds sidestepped the reckless blow.

“I'm still strong enough to beat you!" roared the manic bear.

The doors to the Temple sprang open.

The grin on Grounds' face grew broader. “Not by yourself. And that's the thing that this competition does that you'll never understand Green."

Members of Baramon and Usagi-Okami came charging forward. Even Armistice accompanied them.

“Even if we stand on opposite sides of the Battleground, there's a bond between competitors that is stronger than anything you can ever hope to achieve alone." His eyes drifted from face to face, his heart swelling with pride. “Enemies on the field. Friends everywhere else."

The mutant bear's eyes widened in fury as he quickly found himself once more surrounded. His frustration boiled to the surface and he threw his head back in anger. Single-mindedly driven to get Grounds, he lunged at the Sensei. Golden chains snapped out and wrapped themselves around his ankles and wrists. He mercilessly pulled at them, yanking the Armistice Agents off their feet and swinging them around like they were yoyos.

Green lightning snapped out from his shoulder. Aurora came leaping over him from behind. Precise spells fired straight into Green's face, forcing the bestial bear to staggered back in shock. Walter Canem slid right between the bear's enormous legs, sliding forward feet first. Just as he slid beneath the bear's huge, beach-ball-sized testicles, a flurry of spells exploded from all around him. Green howled in agony as he was attacked from both above and below.

Walter and Aurora both scrambled to stand beside Grounds. The Sensei nodded at both of them and he slammed his foot into the ground. A wall of earth burst from the ground in front of him. Six feet thick but with slots big enough for all three of them to see through. He flung his paw forward. Magical runes erupted from his fingertips and summoned a fist made completely out of obsidian. As it flew, Aurora hurled a brilliant white fireball straight at it. The two elements collided in mid-air, creating an amalgamation of the two. Walter did the same and the fiery fist immediately broke the sound barrier with a thunderous boom. Green barely got time to recover before the soaring fist slammed right into his gut.

Despite all the effort they put into it the spell, the fist just barely lifted Green off the ground by a foot and pushed him back about a step. Green growled, seized the fist and crushed it in his paw.

“You can't beat me!" he roared.

Dozens of figures came charging at Green from behind. He seemed to sense them and he turned, swinging his arm around to swipe at them. His huge forearms tore right through the mud that made up Galahad's clones. There was a moment of shock before the clones immediately launched themselves at him, crowding all over him and forcing him back while striking at him with their fists.

That gave Buck the opportunity to come racing forward and leap high into the air. Surrounded by runes made of earth, the stag reached the Temple's ceiling. The runes around him glowed. Boulders of earth sprang up from the air around him and immediately came hurtling downwards. Aurora and Walter threw their spells the falling projectiles. Each one became like a meteorite, encased in fire and screaming downwards towards the struggling monster bear. Green managed to yank one of the mud clones from his face with enough time to see the huge house-sized. Fiery rock hurtling towards him.

What he didn't see was Waller crouching downwards between Wolfie and Willard. Both of Waller's brothers was clutching a foot of the portly Canem in their clasped paws while Waller was holding onto their shoulders.

“One," Willard began.

“Two!" Wolfie cried.

“Three!" Waller roared.

The two burly wolves hurled Waller high into the air with all their might. Waller, grinning brightly and arms spread wide, clasped Buck's forearm in mid-air. The two boys spun as Buck's magic stalled Waller's flight. With a shared nod, they both shot downwards towards the descending rocks, Waller belly first and Buck cloven feet first. They slammed against the rocks and there was a moment when time seemed to shock as their respective projectiles shuddered and a shockwave blasted out from the contact. Then, the fiery rock blasted downwards while the two boys leapt towards another rock.

Green, seeing his future showed the true cowardice that hid beneath the walls of muscle. He turned and scrambled away.

BOOM!

One rock slammed right behind him, sending him stumbling forward. He barely got to his feet before another one crashed right in front of him, trapping him. A scream of terror ripped from his throat.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Boulder after boulder came crashing down around him before both Waller and Buck angled themselves above the largest of the earthen spheres. The gave each other one resounding hi-five before both descended straight the rock…

BOOM!

… and buried Green.

Aurora, panting in exhaustion, wiped her brow. “Is it done?"

Ground's flesh prickled. “Not yet. It's never that easy."

Their surroundings shimmered and crackled. Bright, blue lightning streamed out of the enormous cairn. The earth rumbled ominously and more and more bolts came streaming out between the cracks. An eerie, blue glow came screaming out between the cracks of the boulders, steadily growing brighter and brighter until it became utterly blinding. The quakes grew so stronger that Grounds had to steady himself Aurora staggered and he caught her, keeping her from falling. Walter staggered and gripped his arm for stability.

“That's enough!" came a booming voice. It sounded like Eustache Green's voice but also the deeper, gruffer tones of Eulogy. But between the odd speech was a third voice. A gravelly hiss, a deep rumble of menace, a cloying miasma. A voice that Grounds remembered from all of Weed's memories when they had undergone the Inheritance Ritual. A voice that came when a single person was poisoned with Ichor and only Ichor.

BOOM!

Grounds jumped back as the barrier in front of him shuddered. Through the holes he had left, he saw the earthen tomb had shattered. At the centre stood Green. Every muscle on the bear's body was grotesquely enlarged just like how Polanzi had been. There was a marked difference however. The veins that was pulsing through his body were enlarged and glowing blue. Two, huge lacerations had appeared against his back and from them, the luminescent goo that was Ichor seeped out. Seemingly possessed like the goo of a Malformed, the Ichor took on the shape of a pair of feathered wings that was a little too small for Green's immense back but was still quite evident.

Green turned to face him. Ichor was pouring from the corners of his eyes like glowing, blue tears and dripping out from his muzzle like saliva. His nipples which had almost seemed to get lost in the enormous shelves that were his pectorals had grown immense, now looking like two swollen ducts where more of the Ichor poured out of. His cock was now the biggest dick Grounds had to admit he had ever seen even in the fantasy lands of each of the people he had ever imparted the Earth Power upon.

“The Ichor…" Grounds breathed softly. “It's consuming him."

It was clearly visible how each pulsation of his veins, each beat of his heart, each palpitation of his muscles squeezed more of the Ichor out of his body. The glowing blue 'blood' was dripping on the floor. There the substance spread across the ground and quickly morphed and twisted the Temple's surroundings. There was a flash in Green's eyes as his Eyes of Ruin triggered. Whether it was a conscious effect or not, the Battleground spread and encased them all. Only this Battleground was different. It was not simply that every colour became muted.

“He's making a Battleground that reflects his personal world!" Clay exclaimed.

Just like we do during the Inheritance Ritual.

Their surroundings became a twisting kaleidoscope of colours and shining shapes. Every surface was made of glass and through that glass were dizzying shapes of different colours. Grounds swiped his free paw through the air and the barrier of earth in front of him slide aside as one would easily push aside a sliding door. Green stood upon a raised dais made up of several glass sculptures. They were all bears and all of them were kneeling in front of him, each holding up their paws to form either the platform for him or a single stair that led to his platform.

“Someone thinks so highly of themselves."

Despite the beauty of the scene, it was made more surreal by the fact that Ichor was constantly pouring out of Green like a waterfall, dripping down the makeshift stairs and pouring down onto the glass ground.

“I am unstoppable," growled Green. “This is my world! I am god here!"

Wolfie stepped forward, crackling his knuckles loudly. “You can't believe how often I've heard that."

“Gods don't mean shit in the real world," Willard snarled, accompanying his father. “Get down off your fucking throne and face us!"

An orange and black striped figure stormed over next to Willard. Grounds hadn't noticed Taser there before.

“I still owe you, fucker," the tiger growled.

Then there was Howl, standing on Wolfie's other side. Judging by the blue eyes, it was Hiro in control.

“Guys!" shouted the golden wolf. “His body is rapidly degenerating. All that Ichor he's secreting is all his strength coming out of him!"

Enough damage had been done and the equilibrium had been broken. Once there had been a balance between mortal and Ichor but now the mortal frame was severely damaged. Ichor was taking over, converting every pieces of flesh into more of itself. In effort to desperately maintain itself, Green's body was pouring it out of him.

“That still makes him dangerous!" Grounds said, setting down Aurora. “He now has more Ichor than ever!"

Hiro grinned savagely. “So it's just like an official competition."

For a second, Grounds didn't understand what the wolf meant. Then it hit him and he couldn't help but grin.

“It's not about causing your foe to submit," said Grounds.

“It's about making every hit count!" cried Hiro, his eyes shifting to red.

On that cry, everyone charged straight at Green.

The monstrous bear threw his head back, letting out a tremendous roar. Glass sculptures came shooting out of the ground, each one looking just like Green with their faces twisted into snarled and hurling fists or feet at the attackers. Grounds rolled to his left, dodging one of the statues which remained frozen the moment it missed him. Green was producing sculptures at a massive rate but he was unable to coordinate himself against so many.

The Canem boys all acted in perfect unison thanks to their father's ability; a form of telepathy that allowed him to communicate with his sons instantaneously. All four wolves ascended the mess of roiling glass statues with Walter leading the charge. The athletic Canem flung wave after wave of spells at Green, surrounding the bear in a flurry of crackling lightning, smouldering fire and biting ice. Green spun towards the wolf and flung his fist towards him. A huge, glass arm came screaming in somewhere behind him. Waller was immediately in front of his brother, exposing his belly. The blow was instantly deflected and the glass shattered.

From the shards, Willard came charging forward, his mighty fist colliding straight with the bear and sending him flying straight into Wolfie. The patriarch of the Canem family threw his head back and let out a tremendous roar. His massive, erect dick suddenly became encased in rock. The surface was perfectly reminiscent of his dick, each vein and curve perfectly accentuate on the ten foot member. Having to use both paws to swing the weapon, Wolfie swung his 'Cockblade' and slammed it right into the flying Green. There was a thunderous crack and the bear was send flying off his raised dais and into the ground, causing cracks to occur all over the otherworldly beautiful surface.

Grounds noticed that Ichor was starting to bleed out from the cracks.

“Keep it up!" the Sensei roared. “He's weakening!"

Green propped himself up on his paws and knees. A gush of Ichor came pouring out of his dick and nipples. His body shuddered in what appeared to be a pleasurable orgasm even though his face was twisted into a mask of rage and desperation. He never got to see Buck coming.

The stag crashed right into him from above. There was a sickening crack as those cloven feet with all their immense power slammed right into his spine. Green's eyes bulged, his muzzle split open wide. Ichor exploded from deep down his throat, shooting high. The runes around Buck mercilessly activated, bombarding the bear from close range with a shower or rocks. Each hit caused more and more Ichor to pour out of the renegade Glass Manipulator.

Green roared and two huge glass hands came screaming out of the ground beside him, coming together as if to crush Buck between them. Taser was suddenly between them, his paws colliding with the hands. But it wasn't Taser. It was Tim, Tim with the incredibly powerful arms just like how Buck's legs were supernaturally strong.

“Go!" Tim roared and Buck immediately leapt away.

Then Tim's eyes changed colour.

The hand slammed around the tiger.

“Tim!" Howl cried.

Green grinned savagely and rose to his feet. “One down…"

CRASH!

The sculpture behind him shattered. A tiger encased in raging red flames, his stripes burning red, erupted from the shattering statue. Green barely had enough time to turn around before Taser's huge fist slammed right into his face.

The empowered tiger mercilessly assaulted the bear, throwing punch after punch that was like beating and squeezing a piece of raw steak. Each hit caused more and more Ichor to squirt out of Green and more and more of the glass world to crack and shatter. Taser spun, the earth springing from the ground around him to form an immense, rocky spear. He swung it –

And Green caught it by its blade.

“You just don't learn your lesson, do you kitty cat?" Green grinned savagely. “Getting sick in your stomach yet?"

Taser grit his fangs together. “Fuck you and your ability!"

Suddenly, Howl and Gabriel were right behind Green. The monstrous bear easily picked Taser up from the ground and swung him around. Howl ducked in time but Gabriel was not so lucky and had Taser crash right into him, sending them both soaring.

“Die! All of you just die!" Green roared.

Howl just grinned and lunged at the bear. Green lifted his arms to block a blow to the face. But instead, Howl went for his chest… particularly his nipples. The wolf gave both the fleshy nubs a hard pinch.

“Squeeze, squeeze."

Green went rigid and couldn't help but moan. He blinked through the Ichor infused tears and looked down at Howl in confusion “What…? What're you doing…?"

Howl winked at him and reached down, rubbing Green's massive dick seductively.

“It's my ability, Green."

Ground's went rigid with shock. Then he let out a laugh as Green fell to his knees.

“What's happening?" Aurora demanded. “Why is Green suddenly…?"

“Hysteria," he explained. “It's Howl's ability. He causes any emotion, no matter how small, no matter how new to completely take over and push to its extremities. He's going to make Green cum!"

“No…!" Green wailed. “No! This… No!"

But he was unable to keep himself from being overwhelmed by Howl's ability especially with the physical contact. The golden wolf pulled away to avoid being affected by Green's own ability. Green's eyes rolled into the back of his eyes, jaw going slack and unable to stop himself from rapidly jacking his huge meat filled with a lattice of blue, glowing veins. His enormous body shuddered. Each quake was mirrored by the world around them. Huge cracks split the glass surfaces. Ichor came pouring out like burst waterpipes.

“No!" screamed Green. “I… was… a… god! Fuck!"

Stream of Ichor were pouring out of Green's nipples and he could no longer stop himself. Perhaps in some desperation to keep the Ichor into himself, he wrapped him lips around his pulsating dick. But even the pre-orgasm bursts were too much for him to contain. His cheeks inflated blue precum filled his muzzle and forced him to pull back.

Every gallon that came pouring out ate away his enormous mass. Veins all over his body seemed to suck muscle into themselves, pumping what they obtained all throughout his body, seeping towards his crotch and then catapulting it out of his body in a spectacular burst. He threw his head back and forth as if trying to reject what was happening to him but he was unable to stop the rush of emotions, the desire and the pure lust that had overcome him.

“Nooooooo!" Green wailed. His eyes focused onto Howl. “I… If I have to cum… I'll at least cum in you_!"_

He lurched forward, rising to his feet. Even with his rapidly deflating mass, he still towered over the golden wolf. One step forward and the glass floor beneath him cracked, Ichor bursting out from the fissures. The shards of glass ripped out of the world around him, angling their sharpened points directly at Howl.

“Oh hell…" Howl began.

Grounds made to charge forward but another hulking figure appeared right behind Green. Wolfie grabbed Green's shoulder and spun the bear around. Without warning, Wolfie mashed their muzzles together. The bear's legs instantly went weak and he toppled back onto his back. His toes curled and his arms instinctively curled around his cock. His entire body was arching up and down with violent thrusts, legs twisting and curling in pleasure.

“That's my ability," Wolfie spat, getting rid of the Ichor in his muzzle. “Testosterone Plus." He winked towards Howl with a sly smile. “The longer the battle goes, testosterone levels in both allies and enemies go up. Testosterone can make a man stronger, make them grow or…" His blue eyes fell upon Green. “… make them really horny. Guess that makes people around me really cocky."

Grounds took a second to realise that Wolfie had just cracked a really terrible joke. The tension in the battle just seemed to fade for a second as everyone stared at the fatherly wolf with confusion.

“Sorry. I get three dad jokes. That's two."

Green threw his head back, lips peeling back in a terrifying roar.

“He's gonna blow!" Taser roared. “Everyone get the fuck down!"

Wolfie leapt over Green and pulled Howl away. Everyone ducked behind one the glass statues, hunkering down as the entire world around them shook violently. Green's cry grew louder and louder. A sound like a watermain bursting filled their ears. All the glass around them shattered and an ocean of Ichor came pouring straight out of Green's enormous dick.

The bear was wracked with spasms, his limbs flailing madly. Every muscle on his body rapidly deflated. Huge bowling ball biceps shrank down, becoming more a lattice of veins than instruments of destruction. Thighs that could carry his tremendous weight shuddered and lost every bit of their definition. A chest that would have put snow-capped mountains to shame flatted and shrunk into flat, unassuming planes. His bones stuck out of his flesh, ribs clearly visible against his torso and muzzle practically hanging from the bone. Though his muscles shrank, his bone structure remained the same giving him an overall emaciated, lanky figure.

Perhaps as a sort of bizarre memento of his former form, his nipples and dick remained grotesquely enlarged. Ichor came pouring out of his nipples like twin geysers just as powerfully as the one pouring out of his cock. When he slumped down onto his back, his huge, engorged dick came slamming down on his chest. Grounds was fairly sure he heard brittle bones shatter with the impact.

The world around them crumbled. Ichor came pouring out of the shattered glass walls, bursting out of the ground just like Green's cum out of his cock. Grounds stumbled as the Ichor came washing in around his ankles.

“Everyone hold on!" he roared.

A wall on the far side shattered and sent a pillar of Ichor rushing towards him. He was knocked off his feet, his head submerged in the rapidly rising level of glowing blue liquid. Trying not to ingest any of the serum, he swam to the surface only to see the rest of his friends and allies get swept up in the rushing and sloshing maelstrom of Green's crumbling world.

Fuck! The world isn't disappearing like it normally does with Aether!

“Con! Hold on!"

He tried to swim but the turbulent storm that rocked Green's world was relentless. A tide pulled him back under the waves…

… and into inky blackness…

******

The Temple was a mess. Its entirety was not meant to be used to reflect a Psyche and Manifesto's inner world; just the deepest chamber as Weed had experienced when he had inherited the Earth Power. The great paintings that had once depicted the history of the Earth Gym were tarnished and dripping with Ichor. Great statues were shattered. Ichor dripped from everywhere and formed puddles here and there. Baramon, Usagi-Okami and even the members of Armistice lay on the ground, unconscious, clothes or fur drenched in the stuff. Grounds was likewise unconscious a short distance away.

Green was the only one conscious amongst them. The nearly skeletal bear was clawing his way towards the nearest puddle of Ichor. He was desperately trying to slurp up more of the good.

Weed didn't even feel pity for him.

“Ichor is the very essence of Armageddon," he stated, a cigarette in his mouth and each step towards the emaciated criminal deliberate and slow. “A being who sought only destruction. Armageddon wanted to destroy absolutely everything even if meant depriving him of his purpose. As such, Ichor will consume everything you have to cause as much destruction as possible."

He pressed foot against Green's hand. Just the lightest pressure and he felt bone crumble beneath his shoe. Green didn't even have the strength to scream.

“I'm not sure whether or not you should consider yourself lucky that the Ichor in your body reached a sort of equilibrium to allow you to live like this. If you call this living. Most of those poisoned by Ichor just explode into the stuff."

He shifted the cigarette from one side of his lip to the other.

“And don't bother slurping up the Ichor that you expelled. It's inert now. Expended." A sigh of relief left him as he glanced around the chamber. “At least no one else will be infected by your version of Ichor. No one else will fall under your control."

Green's eyes turned to him.

“You want to know why?" Weed asked. “Because Ichor is divine. When it enters a mortal, it becomes tainted by that mortal. Though you could produce more Ichor and infect others like you did with Matthew Polanzi, that was only because the balance of Ichor and your body was stable and you could maintain the 'divinity' of Ichor. But once the balance was upset and Ichor took over, the shit you produced is more divine than this stuff…" He made a shot of kicking the puddle of Ichor beside him. “It's just blue, glowing goo. Nothing more. I suppose you could expel more Ichor if you wanted but you don't have the training and your body couldn't take it.

“It's why when the Trainers and contestants ingest Aether, they inherit the same Earth Power but they make it their own. Aether is just as divine as Ichor but when people ingest it, it changes with them. Ichor will violently constantly try to fight against you to make you more like it."

Green's muzzle opened wide, trying to mouth something.

“Help you?" Weed asked incredulously. “After all you've done?" He spat at the bear. That little impact was enough to force Green's head back as if he had been punched. “I have half a mind to just leave you like this. Let you suffer, powerless, weak and constantly having people wait on you hand and foot. That'll be a blow to your pride."

He almost didn't lift the handgun towards Green's forehead.

“But I've got a job to do. I need to preserve the balance. And if I let you fall into Armistice's hands, we're all fucked. So goodbye, Eustache Green. Goodbye Eulogy Green. Apocalypse sends his regards."

Weed lifted his head slightly.

“Armorial Arsenal… Full Negative."

BAM!

******

For the second time in a single month, Howl found himself packing up to leave the Earth Gym. This second visit certainly had been far more… eventful than previously but he still felt like he had grown a lot since he stepped through those doors. Not only that, but he felt he had made some new friends and even met some fellow Wolf Clan. There was a standing invitation to meet up with the Canems during the semester breaks especially since he really had nowhere to go without family. Being around fellow wolves would certainly be welcome.

He glanced out the window of his room and noticed that Weed and Wolfie were speaking with the woman from Armistice. She had chased them down before they left. Her left arm was in a sling but that didn't stop her from smiling and holding out her right arm to shake both Weed and Wolfie's hands.

“You know, I had this image in my head that Armistice was this evil group that wanted to kill us all. But Aurora isn't bad."

They say not to judge a book by its cover or an entire people by the deeds of one person."

Howl rolled his yes. “Do you always have to be such a downer?"

Just being pragmatic.

Howl shook his head and stuffed the last of his belongings into his luggage. Just as he turned to leave, however, his door sprang open. A big, brown bear with bright red hair stepped through.

“Oh hey," Polanzi said. “I was hoping to catch you before you left."

Howl had to fight for a smile. “Hey… Uh… How're you?"

The bear sighed softly. It was odd seeing him, as a bear, wearing not wearing his usual Trainer's attire. Though technically he was no longer a Trainer.

“Rough," he admitted. “I mean… all the other Trainers and my 'friends' don't really look at me the same anymore. I was the guy that got both Aether and Ichor pumped into him after all."

“Sorry about that…"

“You don't have to apologise for it. I got caught off guard by Green. But I've got the stuff out of my system." Polanzi's ears folded downwards. “Both of the stuff…"

The consequence of whatever Weed did to Polanzi to purge him of Ichor. Both Aether and Ichor were spilled from Polanzi meaning he no longer had the Earth Power in him. Without that, he was no longer a Trainer.

“Didn't Grounds offer to reinstate you?" Howl asked.

“Yeah but… I actually wanted to ask you something first." Polanzi looked up to him earnestly. “Can we fuck before you go?"

Howl flinched. “What!? Why!?"

Howl, Hiro said gently. Do it.

“Wait… you're telling me to fuck him? Are you actually telling me to have sex? Did I just get your consent to fuck?"

Just do it.

“Remember how Weed said that we needed to have sex so that I could work out some stuff?" asked Polanzi. “Your ability makes me emotions run wild but when I cum, it all goes out of my system. Just like when Weed saved me. I… I need a fresh start. And I feel that I need to do that in more ways than just my powers."

“Oh… I see…"

Howl smile sympathetically and removed his leather jacket from his shoulders. “Therapeutic sex. I dunno if I should be flattered or insulted."

“I wouldn't ask if there was any other way…"

“I get it," he answered, holding up his paws. “But… I'll be honest, I'm not sure how well I can get things going given that we're about to go and…"

I've got an idea, Hiro suggested. Get Wolfie up here.

Realising exactly what Hiro meant, Howl went over to his window, pulled open his window and shouted for Wolfie.

“Hey Wolfie, William! Can we get your help up here for like… fifteen uninterrupted minutes?"

Wolfie exchanged glances with Weed who gave him a puzzled stare. Aurora seemed to understand exactly what they meant and just rolled her eyes. Wolfie shrugged and headed on up. Half a minute later, he was entering Howl's room asking what he needed.

“I need you to use your Testosterone Plus on us," Howl replied. He gestured at Polanzi. “My ability pushes emotions to their limit and then once someone cums, it sort of gets flushed from them. Polanzi wants to get a few things out of his system but I'm kind of finding it hard to get it up given that pretence. So I was hoping…"

Wolfie lifted his paw. “Say no more. Come here, pup."

Two huge, muscled arms brought Howl towards the enormous wolf. Their muzzles meshed together. Howl's mind reeled as his muzzle was invaded by Wolfie's practiced, thick tongue. The touch of the wolf's beard against his skin and the taut muscles that formed like a comforting wall that he could lie upon immediate started blood rushing towards his crotch. A moan left his muzzle. His entire body shuddered, his temperature rising alongside his dick.

He was left grasping and gasping for more as Wolfie pulled away from him and told Polanzi to get closer. The bear bashfully stepped over and stood on his tip toes to kiss the wolf. What hesitance may have been in the former-Trainer's body faded away the moment their muzzles met. Polanzi's paws seized Wolfie's chest, holding on tightly as his own cock began to rise.

“You boys all set?" Wolfie asked softly.

Howl mumbled softly as he buried his muzzle into the cleft of Wolfie's chest.

“You're going to have to join us," rumbled Polanzi. “If you leave, the effect might go with you."

“That's a flimsy excuse," rumbled the wolf. He kicked the door behind him shut and grinned at the two. “But I'm game."

With his immense strength, Wolfie hefted the two younger men over to Howl's large bed, depositing them both with a sizeable gap between them. He snuggled up to the two right between them, spreading his arms behind his head and flexing. With a grin, he bounced his massive pectorals seductively. The movement was like a magnet to the two boys and he quickly found two muzzles lapping at his large nipples, paws roving over his chest, waves of pleasure rushing up his body. Those waves crashed towards his crotch, causing his jet-black human-shaped dick to spring forth excitedly. The thick length seemed to favour Howl and it poked the golden wolf on the muzzle, offering an alternative to the nipple he was lavishing attention towards.

Howl immediately lunched at the pole of flesh. He tasted the immense, brown wolf's seed. The heady musk emanating from Wolfie dominated all other scents and that aroused him all the more. He purposefully rubbed himself all over the wolf, trying to get as much of the scent on him as possible. His muzzle could barely fit a quarter of Wolfie's dick but he absolutely adored the splashes of precum that went straight down his throat. The first burst came as a surprise and he was forced to pull away and gag while another blast splattered all over his face. Instead of wiping it off completely, he leaned down towards Wolfie's thick, bushy underarms and rubbed his face into the sweaty pits, getting more of that scent deep in his nostrils.

With Howl momentarily away from the throbbing member, Polanzi took up to attending the throbbing meat. The bear nuzzled the immense cock before him. Before far more used to taking dicks and attending his 'daddy', Polanzi managed to take more of the wolf's dick than Howl, going down to about halfway. His tongue slurped and lapped at the member, hot blasts of precum squirting right into his muzzle.

Seeing the awkward angle that Polanzi was in, Wolfie reached over and used his immense strength to pull the bear over him. Howl was momentarily dislodged as Polanzi's crotch was placed over the older wolf's muzzle. Wolfie buried his nose into the bear's crotch, taking in his scent. His entire, godly body shuddered like watching an entire mountain range quake. He lapped at Polanzi's jostling, hairy balls. The bear latched onto his dick moaned and he could feel the vibrations from the male's lips all the way down to his own balls. He ran a long tongue around those thick orbs, advancing slowly until he traced the line between Polanzi's retracted sheath and his dick. The heat emanating from the bear was immense and his musk was driving the need of sex deep into Wolfie. Or perhaps that was Howl's influence. Regardless, he didn't care and angled the bear's sizeable dick towards his own muzzle.

Not to be unattended, Howl took advantage of Polanzi's prone position and positioned himself over the bear. He spat on his paws, collecting enough saliva for him to smear it all over his dick for some natural lubricant. He then angled it towards Polanzi's hole and pushed the tip of his cock inside. He was surprised that there wasn't that much resistance and laughed softly at the thought that the bear really needed this fuck. He bit his lower lip as he drove even further in. The heat from the bear was like a furnace and each time Wolfie sucked on the bear's dick, it was made Polanzi heave which tightened his ass' grip on Howl's cock. He thrust in tandem with their rhythm, driving more and more of his dick into the bear with an urge to make sure every inch could feel the vice-like grip of Polanzi's spasms.

Polanzi was in a similar state of euphoria. Being caught in the middle of Wolfie's Testosterone Plus power and Howl's Hysteria had his mind, heart and cock racing at sixty miles a minute. The thought of servicing this powerful, daddy wolf filled him with both a sense of satisfaction and desire. Having Howl pounding his ass cemented the idea that he had more friends – true friends – than he had first suspected. Their molten precum poured into him from both ends, shooting towards the centre where it gave him a sense of fulfillment. It was a sense that he had been missing. It made him whole.

Every thrust from Howl drove him deeper down Wolfie's dick.

Each suck from Wolfie pulled him back and down onto Howl's cock.

He was caught between two immense forces that shot wave after wave of pleasure through his body that left him swimming in ecstasy.

But he wanted more.

He needed more.

He pulled away from Wolfie's dick. “Fuck me," he growled, panting heavily. “Both of you fuck me."

Howl was a little stunned at the request but then he felt the mountain of a wolf moving beneath him. Wolfie readjusted himself so that Polanzi was resting on his chest, his own dick angled towards the bear's cock ready to spear the ursine. Polanzi needily met Wolfie's muzzle, meshing together in a lusty dance of tongues and lips.

The bear gave Wolfie enough time to say, “Guide me in, pup." Then Polanzi was ravaging his lips again.

Howl looked between his legs at the immense monster of a dick that was just an inch away from his own member. The heat from Wolfie's already lubricated dick was even hotter than Polanzi. He reached forward, paws shaking in reverence. The moment he gripped the member, he felt a brick wall of Wolfie's power hit him. Before he could even take control of his own body, he was already shoving the other wolf's dick into Polanzi's ass alongside his own. The bear roared in pleasure as his ass was opened wide by both immense cocks.

Wolfie thrust and the lattice of veins on his length was like a net that grabbed onto Howl's member and pulled him along. The older wolf led the change, dictating the pace which they both fucked Polanzi. It was all Howl could to hold onto Polanzi's shoulders for dear life as the huge wolf began at a steadily increasing pace. The chorus of moans that rose from their muzzles grew louder and louder, breaching even the soundproof walls of the room.

Perhaps it was a combination of Wolfie's ability and Howl's or maybe it was just that the other residents of the house were really horny but the moment they heard the rising noises matched with the occasional sound of entire house creaking under the might of all three males making love, something came over them.

Out in the home gym, Taser and Willard were comparing notes on nutrition when they heard Wolfie's moan of ecstasy. They exchanged glances.

“I'm on top," Willard growled.

“Fuck no."

“I'll wrestle you for it."

“You're on."

In the lounge room, Willis and Brodie were tapping away at their controllers. The ceiling above their heads shuddered and some dust fell down upon them. The groans of the virtual fighters were drowned out by Howl's rising howl.

“New game!" Waller said, taking over the portly wolf's body and immediately lunged for the stag.

In the kitchen, Galahad set down his spatula and turned around to find Wiley perched on the kitchen table, a predatory gleam in his eyes.

“I dun have a chance, do I mate?"

Wiley just grinned. “Your accent is so fucking sexy!"

Back in the bedroom, Wolfie was completely buried deep inside Polanzi while Howl was holding onto for dear life while the massive wolf mercilessly bounded the bear's ass. Fangs bared, Wolfie was savagely salivating as the pressure in his balls rose and rose. Every muscle on his immense body tensed, veins popping all over his chest and biceps. They were roadmaps that Polanzi eagerly traced, his mind completely blank save for the desire to please this immense daddy wolf and to have as much of himself pressed up against him. He hungrily salivated all over those vascular muscle.

Then pain erupted from his shoulder and primal instincts triggered inside of him. He felt the power of the mating bite and he whimpered as his own balls began churning madly. Compressed against Wolfie's rock-hard abdominals, every thrust stimulated him. Howl's voice whimpering into his shoulder, fangs buried into his flesh drove him wild.

Every muscle in his body bunched, bracing himself for what was to come. Tears began to form in his eyes and his vision blurred. All his other senses became dulled and all he was aware of was the two immense rods spearing him from behind and the need that was bursting from his balls. He tried to keep the sluice gates to his balls closed, wanting to keep the feeling of euphoria, this feeling of belonging, of security against a manly fatherly figure's chest and having a loving mate binding to him, to last forever

But that would not be so.

He had to throw his head back and let out a cry of ecstasy mixed with anguish. His cock erupted, cum exploding with enough force and pressure that it came out with the might of a firehose. With the blast, he could feel his wild emotions rushing out of him. It was like he was standing in a room full of notes and pictures dear to him but then an immense gust of wind just blew them out of the window. He instinctively scrambled for them, trying to keep as many as possible but then the second blast from his cock came and it was stronger than before. What he managed to salvage were wrenched from his paws and he knew he could not hold onto them. He had to let them go.

He caught one last photograph however. It was a picture, a memory, of when he and Grounds first met, when he was inducted as a Trainer. A small tear ran down his cheeks. His fingers loosened around the photograph and it, like the rest, flew out the window and out of him.

His cry lost all anguish and began to fade into a soft sigh.

Sadly, he still had two very horny wolves embedded into him and both loosed their payload. Wolfie tilted his head back and let out an earth-shattering roar. The glass on the windows shattered and the entire building shook. Polanzi tried to brace himself but there was nothing that could prepare him from the tsunami that came from both wolves.

Molten seed came pumped into his cock as both wolves came at the same time, Howl willingly submitting himself to Wolfie's pace. Polanzi was overcome with the familiar sensation of being filled by a dominating man… and the suddenly felt bloated.

Oh no… he thought quickly.

“I got this!" Magnum laughed.

Suddenly, Polanzi felt his body twist and insides adjust. He was forced to tilt his head forward and he felt another cry building inside of him. It burned his chest and he tried to keep it down but there was no stopping it. He screamed… except instead of sound, what came rushing out between his muzzle was hot, white, goo.

He effectively became a tunnel for Wolfie and Howl's cum. A torrent of seed that would've made Green's final explosion blush in embarrassment came pouring out of his muzzle with such force that it struck the window and shattered the frame.

A few second prior, down in the yard, Weed was still talking to Aurora.

“I wonder what's taking them so long," Weed said, checking his watch.

“Knowing your kind, I had expected them to be done by now," answered the Armistice Administrator. “You people tend to be more primal and not know how to pleasure a woman."

“Is that how you identify who is a Manifesto and who isn't?"

Before Aurora could make a snarky reply through her smile, a gold buggy rolled up carrying Grounds.

“Oh good, you haven't left," said the Big Bear. “I –"

That was when Wolfie's howl hit them and all three turned towards the second floor in time to see a geyser of cum shatter the window and pour out across the street. It was a lucky thing that Grounds had left his golf buggy because the torrent slammed right into it and sent it crashing into the neighbour's yard.

“Holy –!" Grounds began.

Then came another roar and this one sounded distinctly feline. The entire foundation of the house shuddered and several cracks appeared across the concrete frame.

“That'd be Taser and I'm guessing Willard…" sighed Weed, shutting his eyes.

There was a loud shattering noise and Weed winced. He didn't need to open his eyes to know that the following shattering noise was probably the television as it was hurled out through a wall. Not that he could save it anyway. Buck probably kicked it into oblivion before the final spasm that sent it soaring. Judging by the fact that he left Willis playing games with Buck, those two had paired up.

Then there was a small explosion and the fire alarms started.

And there was Galahad and probably Wiley destroying the kitchen. With the stovetop on.

“Wonderful…" Weed sighed. He opened his eyes and forced a smile towards Grounds. “Something I can do for you, Sensei?"

Aurora just couldn't keep herself from laughing. She turned, once again in her steel frame dress and bonnet. Her Agents looked at the scene in horror while she just headed to her limo, giggling all the way.

Grounds couldn't keep his eyes away from the utterly ruined two storey home. “Uh… I just wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the Green being completely brain dead. I didn't think a complete Ichor purge would've done that to him but I can see you've got other problems…"

“Yeah… Yeah I do…"

He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Wolfie crawling his way towards the window.

“Uh… sorry about that, Avery!" laughed the big Wolfie, blushing and with his glasses askew. “Your boy Howl's power is really something…" He glanced down at the crumbling home. “Erm… send me the bill. I'll get this place fixed."

Weed just sighed and waved over his shoulder. “I'll give it to you next time we meet. Probably at the Water Gym in a few weeks."

“Oh great!" Wolfie said with a bright grin. “I guess we'll be in for some salty seas then."

Weed visibly flinched and Grounds groaned.

Wolfie Canem just grinned brightly and held up three fingers.

“That's three!"

******

When both Baramon and Usagi-Okami finally left, Grounds found himself waving at them as they went through the airport gates to their flights. Polanzi was there with him, both of them back to their human forms.

“I'm going to miss them," he admitted.

“I don't think we've seen the last of them," said Polanzi with a smile. “Judging by how far they've come, I'm pretty sure they'll be tearing through the Gyms."

Speaking of…

“When did you want to come back to work?" Grounds asked his fellow bear. “I'd like to do the Ritual before the Gym closes. I have to be back in California, after all."

Polanzi got this strangely serene smile on his face. “Actually… I don't think I want to do the Ritual of Inheritance again."

“Huh?" Clay exclaimed in surprise.

“Erm… but then how will you get the Earth Power again?"

Polanzi shrugged and gave the Sensei a bright grin. “I don't think I want it back." He quickly held up his paws. “No offence, Sensei, just that I've spent so long trying to be like you or at least try to be someone you'd like that I haven't really given that much thought into who I should be." He turned his gaze towards the gates. “I think I need some time to think about that before I make any more decisions."

With those words, Polanzi turned and headed off, whistling a little tune while leaving Grounds utterly confused.

“Hey Con…"

Yeah…?

“Is Polanzi suddenly…"

Really hot? Yeah.

Then Grounds realised something. Everyone who he had always offered the Earth Power to had always said 'yes'. This was the first time someone had actually refused him.

“Wait!" he cried, chasing after Polanzi. “What did you mean by that?"

So for the first time in his life, Cornelius Grounds found himself chasing someone.