//------------------------------// // Episode 23: Hunter be Hunted // Story: EoH Evolution: Season 6 // by Bahamut0 //------------------------------// "Two." Blitz Surge growled as he stared over the city of Castalot. His Lancer robots patrolling the streets and sky. After he'd taken the capitol of Unity and imprisoning the princesses would cement him as the one in charge. That his position as Unity's ruler, it's hero, it's savior would be secure. But no. No, his false hero of a brother just couldn't lay down and surrender or stay out of the way. Not only had Burst Stream made a fool of his forces, but he and his friends had also been intervening at the regions Blitz's lieutenants were mobilizing towards or occupying. And so far, they'd liberated Appleoosa and Cloudsdale from his grasp. "Two of the regions occupied by my lieutenants have been taken by my brother's friends." Blitz Surge's fists clenched in unbridled anger! An intense magical aura exploding around his entire being! "And he also still remains at large and free! So long as he lives, so does the people's spirit of rebellion! Mainhattan and Castalot still remain in my control, and Nova Flare is moving toward the Crystal Empire on her mission of 'mercy'. Loathe as I am to admit it, Burst Stream wouldn't be foolish enough to mount a siege on Castalot at this stage in the game. However, there' have been no reports of him engaging in battle. Meaning it's likely he's been coordinating these strikes from whatever base he and his friends have established. If I were to let this continue, I would happily crush him as he charges towards Castalot. For the closer he inches towards me, he also brings father nearer as well. To put an end to a false hero in front of father's eyes would give me no greater satisfaction!" Before he could continue his rant and grand delusions of victory, Blitz Surge reigned himself in. "However, I desire a swift end to any and all resistance. Burst and his band of pretenders are set up in a remote location. Wherever they are, it's clear they aren't in any of Unity's civilized territories and they have not sought asylum with any of Unity's allies. I must admit, I'm surprised I haven't had the griffons, dragons, or yaks marching towards us. Either they are wise enough to fear my power and stay clear, or they are waiting. It hardly matters though," Blitz Surge powered up his magic! But instead of its typical azure glow, it was rainbow-colored. And as it flowed, Blitz's body seemed to bulk up and become more muscular. "I will best them all. Just like how I will crush Burst Stream with the expanded use of the Power of Harmony that recasting the absorbance spell has granted me." Blitz Surge smiled maliciously as he envisioned Burst Stream's lifeless body beneath his foot. The whole world and Aether in audience. "But first, he must be found. Though if he can be captured, publicly humiliating him by dragging him through Castalot's streets would crush the spirits of those foolish enough to reject their hero! To reject the salvation I offer! Fortunately, an asset who would be most useful has offered her services." Blitz Surge cut off the flow of his magic as he heard the doors opening. Turning to face the new arrival he smirked as he took in their appearance. It was a young woman with silver hair, forest green eyes, and light brown skin. Her outfit consisted of brown boots, dark grey pants, and a forest green tank top. A bandoleer of throwing knives was slung across her chest, and a combat knife was strapped to her right thigh. She also had on a cloak and was carrying a caster rifle in her hands. "Ah. Ms. Diana Deadeye. So glad you could offer your services." Blitz Surge said with a smirk. "You need to find the base of the Elements of Heroism. A task not even your little toy soldiers could manage." Diana stated with a smirk of her own. "The request presents a fair challenge in it of itself. However, I wish to make one amendment to it." "And what might that be?" Blitz Surge cocked an eyebrow. "If you wish to negotiate your compensation, we can try to come to an agreement." "There's one of the Elements of Heroism who I particularly wish to pursue. The one called Night Fang." Dina replied with a predatory smile. "Such a cute puppy he is. And from what I've seen, he's earned the name Fang as he's got quite the bite on him. I'll probably enjoy hunting him the most. And should I be successful, I request that I keep him as my little pet." "So you wish to try and tame the proud, determined wolf of the Elements of Heroism." Blitz Surge grinned. "I happily ratify your amendment. Any form of humiliation inflicted upon the any of those false heroes fills me with indescribable pleasure. How soon will you be able to start your hunt?" "The second I leave the city." Diana replied as she turned to leave. "And I already have a good idea of where they are." A smirk on her face as she imagined putting a collar and leash on Fang. 'The thrill of the hunt. . . ' Meanwhile, at the Castle of the Two Sisters, the aforementioned Night Fang stood vigilant as he listened to the Everfree Forest. It was times like these Fang was thankful for the heightened hearing his wolf ears granted him. In fact, all his heightened senses thanks to the wolf spirit within him were helping him guard the base he and the other Elements of Heroism had set up in the castle. 'Nightfall just got word from Ty and Rainbow Dash's groups that they successfully liberated Appleoosa and Cloudsdale.' Fang thought to himself as he scanned the forest. 'We've got a solid start, now we just need to finish strong.' The avatar of determination let out a small sigh. 'Man. I wish I was out there on the front lines with the others, but somebody needs to stay behind to help guard the base. If this place gets taken, we'll get seriously crippled. Just because we've got Burst's dad here doesn't mean we can just sit back and wait for a detection spell to go off. Not to mention we've got Nightfall monitoring communications for us and checking out the news of what's going on in Castalot. Each of us is doing something to help. There are no small parts here.' "So. You getting tired of playing guard dog yet?" Fang was dragged out of his thoughts, and turned to the source of the voice. It was none other than Aria Blaze. Middle siren sister and Fang's girlfriend. "I thought you might like some company staring at the trees." "Well, I'm no lone wolf." Fang chuckled. His tail wagging as Aria squatted down next to him and pretended to survey the forest in front of them. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, how are you and your sisters holding up? I can't imagine it's been easy having to be run out of your home." "It's better than getting banished from the world." Aria said as one of her hands drifted towards Fang's as she stood. Her other hand clutching her right arm. "At least now, we're back in our own world. Honestly, once we were back here, we didn't care that we lost. We were just so shocked and happy we could come back." Aria trembled slightly as she remembered how it felt coming back to Unity. "I wouldn't say you've lost." Fang said as he put an arm around Aria and pulled her into his side. "In fact, I'd say you've gained a lot more than you started off with." "Why's that?" Aria asked with a small smile. She knew how Fang was going to answer, but that didn't make her want to hear it any less. 'He's a bit of a dork sometimes, but he loves me. And Celestia above, I love him.' "Because you've got yourself a 100% good boy!" Fang grinned as he pointed to himself! His tail wagging proudly at his declaration! "Well? Am I wrong?" "Nope." Aria smiled as she stood up and hugged Fang. She was enjoying Fang's warmth when she felt him tense up. "Fang?" "I'm picking up on an unfamiliar scent." Fang said as he gently pried himself loose from Aria before sniffing the air. "If it were some more Lancer robots, I'd know. No, this scent definitely comes from a living being. And from what my ears are picking up, they're headed toward us." "Maybe someone from Unityville got lucky and escaped?" Aria speculated. "A family member of the Elements of Harmony possibly?" "No." Fang shook his head. "Unityville's been placed under an almost unwavering watch with little openings because me and the guys used to operate out of there. And like I said, I don't know the owner of this scent. If I were to guess, Blitz Surge finally caved in and decided to get some hired help." "So what now?" Aria asked. "Get back to the others, and tell them what I picked up on." Fang said as he summoned his Duelist Arms. "I should be able to handle this, but everyone better be standing by in case our visitor's bringing extra company. It's best to prepare for the worst in case our base is compromised." ". . . Be careful." Aria cautioned as she took off towards the others in the castle. "Now," Fang's eyes narrowed. "Time to meet our visitor." Fang leaped down from his perch, and spread his wings! Flying into the treeline and landing on the forest floor! Remaining crouched after his landing, Fang scanned the forest surrounding him. His wolf ears standing tall, listening to his surroundings and trying to pinpoint the intruder's location while he used his nose to help sniff them out. "Where are you?" Fang asked quietly as he remained on-guard. Suddenly his instincts were firing like crazy! Every fiber of his being was telling him to move! Front, back, left, right, it didn't matter! He had to get out of the way now! Wasting no time, Fang jumped up into one of the tree branches! Just narrowly avoiding an energy blast! ". . . Bullet dodged." "Quick little pup, aren't you?" Diana said to herself as her lips curled into an almost predatory grin. "Good. Now the game can truly begin. Oh how I've waited for a hunt like this." 'That blast definitely came from a firearm.' Fang thought to himself as he leaped down from the tree and began running through the forest in an effort to shake his attacker! 'And it was from pretty far away too. Whoever shot at me is packing a rifle-type weapon. And given how they tried to snipe me earlier, they're probably stationary. Meaning they need me to be rooted in one place. Good thing I'm good at keeping mobile! But for some reason, I can't get a good read on their location! And their scent's gotten a lot more faint too.' Fang would have continued his strategizing, but his ears perked up when he heard a spring trigger beneath his feet! From out of nowhere, a wire net erupted from the ground and swiftly entangled Fang! Or at least, it would have if it weren't for Fang's Duelist Arms. "Nice party favors!" Fang quipped as he used his clawed gauntlets to slash the net to ribbons! "Too bad I like to play rough!" "Oh I was counting on that." A new voice said from Fang's right! Fang's eyes widened as he avoided the swing of a knife and dashed a good distance back! The source of the new voice pulled back the hood of their cloak, and revealed herself to be Diana Deadeye! "I have to say, that picture of you that Blitz Surge showed me during his little briefing doesn't quite do you justice." She then slung her rifle forward and cradled it. "You're a much more adorable puppy in person." "You already told me who you work for, and I know why you're here." Fang growled. "Now tell me who you are." "I am Diana Deadeye." Diana said with a smirk. "The greatest huntress in the kingdom. And you, sweet pup, are the prime objective of my hunt. Your friends are also in my sights, but you? Hunting you will be the greatest pleasure. The reward for your friends' capture is trivial by comparison." "So you're here to hunt me, huh?." Fang said with disdain. "I've got an even bigger reason to dislike you now." "Oh? How strange." Diana said with a puzzled look on her face. "I thought you would understand the thrill of the hunt the most since you share the spirit of a beast." A flirty smile crept across Diana's face as she stared into Fang's eyes. "Wolfs are hunting animals. They chase down their prey with great determination, speed, and ferocity. They are the spirit of the hunt incarnate, and that spirit lives within you." "I'm not against hunting or hunters." Fang growled. "I just hate those who do it for sport." "Perhaps you find no thrill from this hunt." Diana sighed before smirking. "But I, on the other hand, most certainly do!" Diana lunged at Fang with her knife, but staggered back when Fang blocked her strike with one of his gauntlets before kicking her away into one of the trees! The bark splintering upon impact! "Hate to break it to you, but I sniffed you out first." Fang declared as he got into a defensive stance. Waiting for his opponent to try something. The midnight-purple aura of his magic flaring to life around him as he crouched down! "The minute you decided to hunt me and my friends, you made yourself the hunted. You kept on saying how I shared the spirit of the wolf. LET ME SHOW YOU THE WILL OF A WOLF THAT PROTECTS ITS PACK! CRESCENT CLAW!" With a swing of his arm, Fang sent out slashes of midnight-purple magic that were aimed at Diana! The huntress managed to block the slashes with her rifle, but she wasn't prepared for Fang to rush up to her and use her rifle as a platform to launch himself up into the air! "Sirius Impact!" Fang cried out as he threw himself into an axe kick! His greaves crashing into Diana's rifle! The impact utterly shattering the hunter's weapon! Fang landed on the ground in the next instant, and glared right at her and striking her in the gut! "Naughty. . . puppy. . . " Diana groaned as she staggered back from the blow! "Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not nice to hit girls?" "Really? Trying to pull that card?" Fang frowned. "My girlfriend fights better than you. I should know because she's pinned me way more times than I did her. Besides, you were so set on hunting me, weren't you? You should've expected that I'd bite back. After all, beasts only bare their fangs at enemies. And going after my friends definitely makes you mine. So what do you have to show for your hunt? A bruised body and a busted rifle. Me? I don't have a scratch one me and I've barely broken a sweat. So tell me Ms. Deadeye," Fang dashed up to Diana's face and stared right into her eyes! "Do you still think you're the hunter here?" ". . . No." Diana replied softly as her entire body trembled in fear of what Fang might do to her! "No I'm not. I should've seen it sooner. It was clear the second you journeyed into the forest." "Good." Fang nodded. "Now leave." "What?" Diana was puzzled. "Why?" "I don't know what Blitz told you about us, but we don't strike down helpless enemies." Fang answered. "Besides, you're just hired help. If you were one of his lieutenants, THEN I'd drag you back to our base. But a bit of warning before you go: Blitz doesn't take failure well. Chances are he'd do things we wouldn't over one screw-up. My advice? Just say you couldn't handle it. It's the truth. . . kinda. I mean, did you really think you stood a chance against an Avatar like me?" "Honestly, Blitz Surge never told me I'd be facing gods." Diana frowned. "I don't know who's more stupid now. Me accepting his request, or him for thinking I'd be able to stand a chance." "Hey, I ran in without any backup." Fang smiled. "So we all did something stupid today. I'd guide you out of here, but I don't want to risk a game of chase with an Sentry units." "My cloak helps to conceal my presence." Diana stated. "It's the enchantment I had placed on it for hunting. Though now? I have some things about my life to reconsider." "Well, good luck out there." Fang waved. "Me? I've gotta get back to my girl. She get impatient when she can't snuggle with me." And with that, Fang sped off back towards the castle as Diana made her way back to civilization. "Hey Ari. I'm back." "Any trouble?" Aria asked. "Nah." Fang shook his head and smiled. "Just had to help someone with directions."