PA 3.5: End of a Tail

Chapter XX Part III

Patches was coated in stray bits of dead leaf, grass, blood, and bruises. He looked nauseous, swaying lightly with each step as the pain of his battered rib shone through with how he clutched his chest.

Patches swung Mitt's wand once more, smiling at Rover's scream as Sparky leapt out of the way of a bludgeoning wave of magic. The husky smashed his elbow against the ground, grunting, then pressing his paws against the dirt and shoving himself up.

Sparky briefly turned to Rover, who had his eyes widened and paws clutching the top of his head in fear. He muttered out an inaudible disbelief at the situation he had been thrust into, and stared at the dalmatian before himself in horror.

"Rover, run!" Sparky shouted, gripping the terrier by the shoulder and shoving him back, then taking a position in front of the dog. Sparky stared Patches down with grim determination to not let him hurt the people he cared for.

"C-Captain?!" Rover shouted in disbelief, his face maddening at the implication. He stuttered backwards, barely able to keep himself from falling over with how slowly he was able to regain his wit.

"RUN!!" Sparky screamed at the terrier, face filling with urgency and leather jacket fluttering about as Sparky raised his fists up defensively, hoping it would help stop any bolts aimed at his chest.

Rover had tears forming in the corners of his eyes and only gave a mortified glance towards Sparky before his reluctance shattered under the weight of the command. The terrier ran as fast as he could from the duo, clearing a dozen meters in only a couple seconds and almost reaching the gate.

Patches brought the wand back up as Sparky stood between the fleeing dog and the aggressor, stretching his arms and legs to maximize how much he was covering the terrier's retreat.

Patches toothy grin became more reserved, and his tired eyes wilted at Sparky's sacrifice. "You really care about him that much, eh? Well..."

Sparky winced and shut his eyes as Patches raised his wand. There was a whooshing in the air, a great heat blew past Sparky's face, but he soon realized the attack didn't hit him.

It didn't hit him because it wasn't meant for him.

Patches laughed as a concussive boom rang behind Sparky, ruffling his fur with the wind flowing away from the blast. He turned around to see the dregs of the magic wafting through the air next to a tree that had exploded from the attack. Bits of bark and wood rained down from the heavens as even the stump was eradicated by the blast. Next to it, Rover lay on the ground, screaming and yelling in pain as he rolled onto his back. He cradled his right knee, allowing Sparky to see the singed fur as well as the shaft of wood that had slammed into the back of his lower leg.

"Who better to watch you die than him!" he said, eyes going bugged, a broad smile on his mouth as he giggled cheerily.

Sparky turned his head back to Patches, just in time to catch Patches twirling his wand about, staring at the husky with a venomous gaze. "NO!" Sparky screamed in the instant before more magic flew from the wand; thin grey distortions flew towards him. The husky had barely any time to raise his arms up before the magic slammed into him, slicing his body wildly. Small slashes instantly opened on his arms, leaving his face largely untouched aside from a few chunks of ear being ripped out. The husky's chest took far more damage, cutting past the leather jacket and school uniform like butter, slicing his flesh and lacerating his ribcage. His belly had taken the brunt of the force, carving deeply in his guts and letting the spooled organs squish out from the openings on his sides like they were trying to escape the skin that had kept them prisoner.

The husky fell onto his back, face contorted into agony as the parted flesh oozed red, and he already felt blood loss kicking in. His face wavered with exhaustion as the dalmatian drew closer.

"What's wrong Rover? Not going to save your best friend?!"

Sparky couldn't see the terrier, and Patches' wild smile consumed his vision as he tried to think of anything at all. He huffed, trying to sit up so he could lunge at the dog, but his abdomen cringed in overwhelming pain the moment he tried to do so.

Patches raised the wand, his smile distorting into sheer anger. "Going to keep crawling? Don't you want to save him?!"

He heard Rover's grunts of effort and doors slamming inside of the house as he instinctively tried to keep his winding guts inside of his body, pressing down on the snake-like protrusion. Sparky barely realized how little it hurt as his body tried to keep itself alive.

Patches frowned, seemingly in genuine disgust. He looked down at the husky, contempt in his eyes. "I guess he gave up on you, Sparky boy," he grumbled, approaching the dying husky with his wand raised. "We have, what? Twenty seconds? Let's make them count."

"... Why..?" Sparky trailed out, blood leaking from his mouth as his guts opened up wide, spreading putrid gore throughout the entirety of his body.

Patches let loose a low giggle, smiling curtly. "Oh I'm just dying to hear your speech, Sparky," Patches curled the wand about, and suddenly Sparky felt an intense pressure around his lower intestine- like it was being gripped by a balled-up fist, "but I don't think you have the time for it..."

Sparky grunted in pain as the sudden presence in his body made it feel it was ballooning outward; his skin was about to burst open like a blooming flower.

"I should have s-stopped Coco!" Sparky barked out, barely able to before taking in sucking breaths and beating back the agony welling in his stomach.

The dalmatian paused, letting his wand-holding paw linger mid-air as he stared down at the husky in bemusement. It seemed like out of all the things to say; Patches wasn't expecting that.