That night, Blaze was on patrol. After the day with Garroth, he was a little stressed out leaving him there. Part of him wanted to bring him home to make sure he was away from the hectic environment but, Lucinda assured him that Garroth would be fine. Still, he feared that he might reach a breaking point. Seeing how worried he was for everyone made Blaze realize that at any moment, he might have a panic attack and snap. He trust Garroth, yes. If anyone was strong enough to fight Shadow off, it was him. Yet, the redhead remembered that Protector needed Howler...at least that's what Protector told him. What kind of partner was he if he couldn't be by his side?
"Amina, what do I do? Shadow is chipping away at him and no one can flipping translate morse code apparently,", Blaze groaned, pacing a rooftop.
"Just be patient Blaze. They'll figure it out and Garroth will remain strong,", Amina repeated for the fifth time that evening.
"I know...it just hurts. He's alone again and no one is there to-"
"Your friends are there. If something happens, they'll be able to help him get through it. As Howler, your job is not only to protect the people you care for but, Scaleswind. You need to find a way to balance those emotions."
"Y-You're right."
The powers held by Blaze's earrings were something that he struggled to explain. He was strong yet, agile and his senses were brought up to a hundred. If he tried hard enough, he could hear and smell things from a mile away. Sure, the city prohibited him to use it to it's full potential but, Amina said that it could be even better if he were out in the wild. Speed was also another perk and as the years went by with Protector, Howler found himself not struggling too much without his partner like he first assumed. Pair that with the advance tech at S.T.F and Blaze found his night job far easier than expected.
So, when he heard a distant conversation, he knew he wasn't just hearing things.
"How much longer do you think it's going to take for him to break again?", A man asked in a gruff voice. "You promised that after that fundraiser it would be only a matter of a few days."
"Don't worry,", Another voice spoke out. "Garroth Ro'Meave is nothing without Shadow. Soon, he'll grow weak enough to let Shadow take control."
Blaze immediately rushed to where the conversation was. He jumped rooftop to rooftop, the conversation becoming a little more clear he got closer. He discovered this small group that was only two blocks away. There were about five people walking down the street, keeping their volume to a minimum. He took note of their appearances. There were three men. The one who seemed to be the dominant one in the group was pale and had silver hair. His smile was devious and didn't sit well with Blaze. The others were much younger than him. The two other males were a bit more built compared to him. One had pitch black hair with a blue streak in the front with tan skin, contrasting greatly with the orange haired and pale man walking on the other side. The other two were females. Both of which had high-pitched voices. They both had brightly colored hair, lilac and neon pink to be exact. All in all, Blaze was shocked that they weren't really trying to hide appearance wise. If anyone saw them, some double-takes may be in order.
"Michael, do you remember how long it took Doc to break him?", The one with orange hair hissed out, obviously annoyed about the situation. "He now has support to make sure he doesn't. We might be waiting for months till Shadow makes his return."
"Shh!", Michael said. "Let's take this conversation inside. Howler patrols at night, remember?"
They all walked up to an apartment building and made their way inside. Blaze waited until they began their conversation again. Once they did, he was able to locate their room. It was near the fire escape on the side of the building where he could poke his head up to take a peek. He silently climbed down and made sure his mask was secured. He hunched down and kept low as he honed in on the little meeting they were having.
"Geez Mike...for someone as rich as you, you'd think you would buy a better place,", The girl with the pink hair complained.
"This place is only temporary. Besides, Scaleswind is going to be a dumpster-fire soon anyway,", Michael explained.
"Shame. It really is a beautiful city,", The other woman sighed. "Michi really has been enjoying her stay here."
"It needs to be sacrificed for the greater good. That way, the S.T.F and the government will be too distracted to notice our takeover,", Michael walked across the room and sat on the couch right in front of the window Blaze was peering into. "All those negative emotions will be the perfect feeding ground for Shadow's army. It'll spread and soon, everything will be over. We'll have complete control."
"That is, if Shadow decides to show up,", The emo-looking dude mumbled, crossing his arms on the other side of the small apartment. "Why don't we just infiltrate the base? Kai, Ivy, Michi and I could speed up-"
"No. It's chaos in those doors. Soon, the anxiety of it all will chip away at Ro'Meave until there's nothing but Shadow left. Until he's so deep in, there's nothing else strong enough to pull him back up."
"What about Howler?", Kai asked. "Shadow is not the only one who's gotten stronger over the past decade."
"He'll be easy to defeat once Shadow starts the infecting process. As well as all those other pathetic agents."
"You sure?", Ivy questioned in a "are you serious" tone.
"Don't you remember why we chose him? Howler won't be able to lay a finger on him now since he knows who he is. He's the only person who is a considerable opponent. Once he's gone, all the other agents will be swept away as if they were particles of dust."
"And if Ro'Meave does overpower Shadow?", Ein asked.
Michael only chuckled, as if ignoring the question. He got up and asked instead; "Do any of you want some coffee? You'll need once Howler decides to come in."
In a second it seemed, Michael snapped back with a gun in his hand shot right at the window. Blaze was able to duck in time before the bullet shattered the glass.
"Dammit!", Blaze cursed, summoning his claws. He hopped into the room, knocking over the couch to create a barrier between him the group. Bullets kept coming, putting holes into the wall and making stuffing from the couch to fly.
Howler was scrambling for ideas. He had the training to handle it but, after hearing their conversation, he worried that they had something up their sleeves.
"Blaze, just try to disarm them and make an escape. You already have a lot of information that you need to get back to the others!"
Howler, listening to his' spirit's advice, he jumped over the couch and charged Michael first. Dodging the bullets, he was able to push his arm back, digging his claws into his arm, aiming the bullets above them. He hoped there was no one up there at the moment. He was able to land a punch in, making him fall onto the ground. He grabbed the gun mid-air and threw it out the window. As he made his way to the window, he was grabbed from behind and pulled down with them.
Kai got in front of him and started kicking the hero. Blaze out of instinct, kicked his legs out from under him and grabbed the arm of the person under him. He sat up and threw them on top of Kai. Ein groaned, pushing himself up in a haze. Blaze knocked him back down for good measure. He was so scattered-brain that he didn't see that Michi girl run up and jump on him. As he struggled to push her off, he heard another gun off and then a piercing pain in his leg. He cried out, falling on his knee. He found another burst of strength as a survival instinct and finally threw Michi off of him. He looked back to see that Ivy was the one who shot that bullet.
"Don't move a muscle!", She threatened.
Michael finally got back on his feet and laughed at Howler. "Seems you figured out our little plan...unfortunately you'll won't be able to see the final product like we thought."
"Garroth is stronger than you think...", Blaze huffed out, looking up at the two with daggers in his eyes.
"I never said that...no matter what you do though, our plan will still fall into place,", Michael smirked. "It still would've been better if you sticked around."
"Why you say that? Don't you think it'd be easier with me gone?"
"Cause it would've been a more painful way for you to die,", Michael smiled devilishly. "The light in your eyes go out with your final thoughts being that you could've done better for the person you love the most. Isn't that right? You don't just want Shadow to return for the safety of Scaleswind but, because you don't want your Protector to go through something so...traumatic."
That poked Blaze a little too hard. Like a second wind, he charged again. A bullet only grazed his skin before he was able to disarm Ivy and push her down. He then pushed Michael up against the wall and said through gritted teeth; "You'll never see that final product. Nor will you or Shadow ever inflict pain onto him again." He then sunk his claws into Michaels chest, making him groan.
Once Blaze let go of him, the silver-haired man fell to the ground. Howler looked around to see everyone still unconscious.
"Let's get out of here,", Blaze huffed.
"You're injured Blaze,", Amina said, her voice shaking a bit. "You shouldn't-"
"No. They need to know immediately. Garroth can't be there any more. It'll only cause trouble,", Blaze said aggressively out loud. "I'll just go home and get my car if that makes you feel better."
"O-Okay...I'll make sure you're wound doesn't worsen while I'm here. Just know it'll get worse once you detransform."
"Roger. Now let's go."
Blaze snuck out the window, checking to see if anyone on the top floor was hurt. Luckily no one was in their living room area at that hour. So, he slipped away and made his way back to his penthouse.
Word Count: 1790
Tomorrow I start remote learning...yay...
It's my senior year and I signed up for a lot of stuff not knowing that the world would be in this state at the moment. So, please bare with me for the next few weeks as I try to reorganize myself, haha!
If any of you need someone to listen to during these challenging times, feel free to reach out! I won't mind!
Treat people sweet my foxes!
~Candi