Spider came charging outside and, remembering the mist from last night, stopped talking for long enough to get through the only other door he could see. It felt wrong, this ... being cautious.
As it turned out, his flashlight had done some good, as the dog (if it could even be called that anymore) cut down on its speed a little. Granted, Sora still needed it to attack him before the Keyblade would activate, but he'd rather deal with a slow approach. He remained focused on the dog, wanting to be ready to dodge out of the way once it got close enough, but then he was completely distracted by a sudden light coming from Allen's direction.
And, well, the arm was pretty much impossible to miss. It explained why the other boy had been messing with his bandages earlier, but Sora was still in awe. Who would have thought that Allen could change himself like that? It was almost monstrous, actually, and Sora wasn't sure what to think when his friend suddenly grabbed for one of the dogs and started making attempts to crush it.
Of course, Sora had seen grotesque things in the past, but he wasn't quite as used to seeing them attached to his friends. Then again, considering he was usually buddying up with a dog and a duck, could he really judge all that much? Allen was still Allen, and when it came down to it, that arm was pretty useful.
Granted, watching Allen's display left him more or less unaware of what the other dog was up to.
Needless to say, the dog attacking Allen received a rather unpleasant surprise - instead of sinking its teeth into living flesh, it found itself attacked, with sharp-tipped fingers digging into what remained of its own rotted skin. Bones snapped under the pressure exerted by the claw, punctuating the hiss as the creature's fur and sinew burned away, but still it struggled; even if the back legs hung limp the fore still twitched, the dog's jaw still snapping, trying to somehow find purchase on the limb that held it.
As for its companion, slowed though it was by the sudden flash of light, once Sora became distracted the dog made up for lost time and redoubled its pace. The scent of warm blood drove it on, that purpose being the reason the corpselike beast remained animated. Flecks of saliva and foam dripped from its gaping jaws as it pushed from the ground, lunging for the boy's throat.
As soon as he felt the bones start to break, he hoped that would be the end of the struggle. It's just like an Akuma. It's just like an Akuma, his mind repeated, though it was hard to think of it like that. It wasn't that he enjoyed hurting any living thing, but here, it seemed, it was often necessary for their own survival.
Allen dug in his heels and lifted the dog, finding it harder than it ought to be to do so. Usually fallen pieces of buildings or pillars were all fairly easy for the Innocence to handle. With a grunt he threw the creature back toward the institute. If the throw wasn't enough to kill it, hopefully it was enough to leave it stunned.
Focused as he was, it left little time for him to worry over his companion. Sora said he'd fought before, right? He'd seemed confident. But as Allen turned to check on the other, he didn't even have time to shout a warning as the second dog leaped.
The panting breaths and padding of four paws pulled Sora's attention back to his own target, but it was already too late. No matter what he did, it was going to reach him, and so the only thing he could do was shield himself. He swiveled the left side of his body toward the dog, turning his arm up slightly. A bite in the arm was much better than one in the neck, after all.
In a split second, he felt the pain of fangs slicing into his skin and cried out. The weight of the dog was there as well, and chances were that it was going to cling onto him and keep biting if he didn't do something. Sora flung his arm around wildly, hoping he could shake it off.
He had already made a stupid move, but Allen should have warned him about the fact that his arm could morph into a huge weapon like that! But he wasn't going to blame the other boy for it, and he would deal with his new wound without complaint. It was bound to happen, after all, and he could already feel the warmth of the Keyblade starting to form in his right hand.
The thrown dog let out a final pained yelp as it struck the ground, for a moment lifting its head in a vain struggle to continue the quest to feed, but at this point its injuries were far too great to continue and it dropped again to lie still. Whether it had finally died in truth or was still clinging to a tiny scrap of life was uncertain, but it no longer moved. It was no longer a threat, whether to the two boys or others emerging onto the field.
The second dog found its lunge abruptly halted before its fangs could reach its target's neck - the arm its jaws instead clamped down on was a poor substitute, lacking in enough substance and warm, rich blood to keep it satisfied. The dog's teeth ripped free of flesh as it was shaken, and it landed a little awkwardly on the ground again. It paused for only an instant, though, before righting itself and whirling to attack again, this time aiming toward the boy's leg. If it couldn't reach the neck, instinct told it to bring the prey down to its level instead.
At least Sora had managed to fend off the first attack, but now the dog was on him and it would be really difficult to try to separate them with his Innocence without hurting Sora too. Allen de-activated the claw and in the blink of an eye it was back to the way it was. Maybe he could still pull the thing off and help, or-
But it looked like Sora knew what he was doing after all. There was something forming in his right hand. Was it like Innocence? Something else entirely? Was it better to stay out of the way? Allen hesitated, but if he didn't fend it off in the next few moments, maybe he could try to separate them.
For now, the only thing Sora could focus on was the dog attacking him. He was pretty sure Allen could take care of himself, though, with a weapon-arm-thing like that. While he heard the cries of hungry birds coming from other parts of the field, he couldn't worry about that either. He didn't like the idea that other people were also being attacked, but he knew that was just the norm in this place.
Unfortunately, the dog went for his leg. Sora would have had a much easier time blocking if it had jumped at him again. The Keyblade was fully-formed now, but he still wasn't able to bring it down to protect his leg in time, and so he felt a second stinging bite and hissed painfully through his own teeth.
The one good thing about this was that it meant the monster was close to him, which gave him the opportunity to pull back with the Keyblade with both hands and swing it down toward the dog's back; he aimed for between its shoulder blades. His injured arm ached from the earlier bite, so the attack wasn't as strong as it would have been, but it was nothing to sneeze at either.
Once more the dog's sharp fangs drew blood, and yet once more it was interrupted before it could get more than just a tantalizing taste. Even as its jaws closed on the boy's leg it felt a sharp blow on its unprotected back, hard enough to make its legs buckle as it let out a sharp yelp of pain.
When it rose to its feet again it only did so with three of them, one foreleg hanging limp and apparently useless, and it awkwardly scrambled back a couple of steps to eye the pair. Hunger pressed at it, told it to attack once more - but at the same time its packmate had already been killed and it injured.
It paused in the wary half-crouch for an instant, blood-tinged saliva dripping from snarling jaws, before the temptation became too much and it lunged forward again toward Sora. Slowed by the injury it might be, still it strove for more than just a taste of the boy's flesh.
It was hard to fight for the first time with someone who's abilities he didn't know, but once he saw the weapon and how Sora used it, he had a pretty good idea. A giant key wasn't all that strange when compared to giant hammers or magic boots or guns or tombstones or any number of other forms Innocence took.
While he was hesitant to jump in, especially now that Sora was able to use his weapon, he still wanted to help. Unfortunately, with how close-range his own combat skills were, it was kind of difficult to do so without getting in the way. But when the dog backed off for a few moments, Allen scooped up a clod of dirt and aimed it at the beast's face. Even if it didn't slow it, hopefully that would be enough to stun it or even just throw it off for a few precious seconds.
This dog wasn't giving up too easy! Luckily, Sora was used to that sort of thing. The Heartless would just keep on attacking until he disposed of them, too. He knew that this wasn't going to be over just because he got a few hits in.
He was ready for when the dog started toward him again, and the clump of dirt that was suddenly flung toward the thing's face put a smile on Sora's lips. He wasn't one to refuse help, and if that dirt landed where it was meant to, it would give him a perfect opening.
So, instead of just waiting, Sora charged, Keyblade held slightly above him. Once he thought he was close enough, he made a side-slash with the weapon, intending to hit the side of the dog's head.
Even as the dog made its three-legged charge toward the boy the thrown clod abruptly struck it on the muzzle, not only startling it and disrupting its awkward run, but also spraying dirt into its eyes. Because of this it couldn't see the attack coming at it, nor would it have been able to adequately dodge even if it had.
Sora's strike hit true to its aim, ripping through already-rotting flesh and crushing its skull. The dog flew to the side and collapsed to the ground, and this time did not rise again.
The dirt hit its mark and Allen breathed a sigh of relief when Sora went in to finish it. The rotting flesh and gore hardly bothered him; it was something he'd seen more than enough of, though he might prefer not to. Most important was to make sure his friend was still doing alright.
"That was a little close," Allen said as he trotted over, "are you okay?" He still had some scraps of bandage hanging around his exposed left arm, or the shirts could be torn up easily to make something to wrap the wounds.
It looked like Sora still had what it took! He had managed to take that dog down with a few well-placed smacks of his Keyblade, and now that the monster was lifeless on the ground, his weapon promptly disappeared in a dimmer flash of golden light.
He turned to Allen as the other boy approached him, doing his best to smile despite the stinging of his wounds. He was putting most of his weight on his good leg now, which probably made it pretty obvious that he was hardly one-hundred percent anymore. Still, it could have been worse.
"I'll be fine," he assured Allen. "Though I should probably stop this bleeding..." He glanced from his upper arm down to his leg and let out a sigh. Well, at least Allen hadn't been hurt. Sora wasn't too keen on ripping his shirt up, seeing how cold it already was -- but what other option did he have?
As Allen got closer it was easy to see that Sora's injuries might make it hard to continue. He pulled what was left of his bandages from his arm, all still clean since they were there simply to cover up his Innocence and not for any real purpose aside from simple vanity. It might be enough for the leg, but he wasn't sure he could get both out of it.
He pulled them away, crouching down next to Sora so he could take a look at the injury, "You can lean on my shoulder if you need to, I think I can wrap up this much."
"Are you sure you want to keep going? We can go back and get it cleaned out properly at the clinic. The quarry is pretty far to go on a bad leg."
It was going to be a lot easier and faster if Allen just bandaged his leg for him, and so Sora took the other boy's offer and leaned his good arm down against his shoulder. He let out a small sigh of relief as he was able to lift his injured leg up off the ground slightly and take most of the strain off of it.
"Thanks," he said, trying to keep his tone upbeat so that Allen wouldn't worry. "And no, we should keep going. I mean, we didn't make it last night, so we've got to this night, right?" Part of him knew that Momo would understand if they told her they had failed a second time, but he didn't want to have to do that.
"Just wrap it tight and I'll be fine!" he finished. It was going to be a little rough, but he was sure he could handle it, and hopefully they wouldn't have any more monsters after them. That might be a problem, though maybe not if Allen could whip out that huge arm of his again!
Allen rolled the pant leg up and started winding the bandage over the worst of it. It looked kind of painful, but not too deep, so hopefully it wouldn't cause Sora much trouble. He tied off the ends and surveyed the work for a second before pushing himself to his feet, careful to give Sora enough time to regain his balance.
"Alright, I think that should do it for your leg," he dusted himself off. "We should probably get your arm too." He didn't have anything else on him though, so he tore at the hem of his shirt, trying to get an even strip of fabric he could use to at least stop the bleeding.
And, well, the arm was pretty much impossible to miss. It explained why the other boy had been messing with his bandages earlier, but Sora was still in awe. Who would have thought that Allen could change himself like that? It was almost monstrous, actually, and Sora wasn't sure what to think when his friend suddenly grabbed for one of the dogs and started making attempts to crush it.
Of course, Sora had seen grotesque things in the past, but he wasn't quite as used to seeing them attached to his friends. Then again, considering he was usually buddying up with a dog and a duck, could he really judge all that much? Allen was still Allen, and when it came down to it, that arm was pretty useful.
Granted, watching Allen's display left him more or less unaware of what the other dog was up to.
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As for its companion, slowed though it was by the sudden flash of light, once Sora became distracted the dog made up for lost time and redoubled its pace. The scent of warm blood drove it on, that purpose being the reason the corpselike beast remained animated. Flecks of saliva and foam dripped from its gaping jaws as it pushed from the ground, lunging for the boy's throat.
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Allen dug in his heels and lifted the dog, finding it harder than it ought to be to do so. Usually fallen pieces of buildings or pillars were all fairly easy for the Innocence to handle. With a grunt he threw the creature back toward the institute. If the throw wasn't enough to kill it, hopefully it was enough to leave it stunned.
Focused as he was, it left little time for him to worry over his companion. Sora said he'd fought before, right? He'd seemed confident. But as Allen turned to check on the other, he didn't even have time to shout a warning as the second dog leaped.
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In a split second, he felt the pain of fangs slicing into his skin and cried out. The weight of the dog was there as well, and chances were that it was going to cling onto him and keep biting if he didn't do something. Sora flung his arm around wildly, hoping he could shake it off.
He had already made a stupid move, but Allen should have warned him about the fact that his arm could morph into a huge weapon like that! But he wasn't going to blame the other boy for it, and he would deal with his new wound without complaint. It was bound to happen, after all, and he could already feel the warmth of the Keyblade starting to form in his right hand.
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The second dog found its lunge abruptly halted before its fangs could reach its target's neck - the arm its jaws instead clamped down on was a poor substitute, lacking in enough substance and warm, rich blood to keep it satisfied. The dog's teeth ripped free of flesh as it was shaken, and it landed a little awkwardly on the ground again. It paused for only an instant, though, before righting itself and whirling to attack again, this time aiming toward the boy's leg. If it couldn't reach the neck, instinct told it to bring the prey down to its level instead.
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But it looked like Sora knew what he was doing after all. There was something forming in his right hand. Was it like Innocence? Something else entirely? Was it better to stay out of the way? Allen hesitated, but if he didn't fend it off in the next few moments, maybe he could try to separate them.
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Unfortunately, the dog went for his leg. Sora would have had a much easier time blocking if it had jumped at him again. The Keyblade was fully-formed now, but he still wasn't able to bring it down to protect his leg in time, and so he felt a second stinging bite and hissed painfully through his own teeth.
The one good thing about this was that it meant the monster was close to him, which gave him the opportunity to pull back with the Keyblade with both hands and swing it down toward the dog's back; he aimed for between its shoulder blades. His injured arm ached from the earlier bite, so the attack wasn't as strong as it would have been, but it was nothing to sneeze at either.
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When it rose to its feet again it only did so with three of them, one foreleg hanging limp and apparently useless, and it awkwardly scrambled back a couple of steps to eye the pair. Hunger pressed at it, told it to attack once more - but at the same time its packmate had already been killed and it injured.
It paused in the wary half-crouch for an instant, blood-tinged saliva dripping from snarling jaws, before the temptation became too much and it lunged forward again toward Sora. Slowed by the injury it might be, still it strove for more than just a taste of the boy's flesh.
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It was hard to fight for the first time with someone who's abilities he didn't know, but once he saw the weapon and how Sora used it, he had a pretty good idea. A giant key wasn't all that strange when compared to giant hammers or magic boots or guns or tombstones or any number of other forms Innocence took.
While he was hesitant to jump in, especially now that Sora was able to use his weapon, he still wanted to help. Unfortunately, with how close-range his own combat skills were, it was kind of difficult to do so without getting in the way. But when the dog backed off for a few moments, Allen scooped up a clod of dirt and aimed it at the beast's face. Even if it didn't slow it, hopefully that would be enough to stun it or even just throw it off for a few precious seconds.
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He was ready for when the dog started toward him again, and the clump of dirt that was suddenly flung toward the thing's face put a smile on Sora's lips. He wasn't one to refuse help, and if that dirt landed where it was meant to, it would give him a perfect opening.
So, instead of just waiting, Sora charged, Keyblade held slightly above him. Once he thought he was close enough, he made a side-slash with the weapon, intending to hit the side of the dog's head.
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Sora's strike hit true to its aim, ripping through already-rotting flesh and crushing its skull. The dog flew to the side and collapsed to the ground, and this time did not rise again.
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"That was a little close," Allen said as he trotted over, "are you okay?" He still had some scraps of bandage hanging around his exposed left arm, or the shirts could be torn up easily to make something to wrap the wounds.
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He turned to Allen as the other boy approached him, doing his best to smile despite the stinging of his wounds. He was putting most of his weight on his good leg now, which probably made it pretty obvious that he was hardly one-hundred percent anymore. Still, it could have been worse.
"I'll be fine," he assured Allen. "Though I should probably stop this bleeding..." He glanced from his upper arm down to his leg and let out a sigh. Well, at least Allen hadn't been hurt. Sora wasn't too keen on ripping his shirt up, seeing how cold it already was -- but what other option did he have?
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He pulled them away, crouching down next to Sora so he could take a look at the injury, "You can lean on my shoulder if you need to, I think I can wrap up this much."
"Are you sure you want to keep going? We can go back and get it cleaned out properly at the clinic. The quarry is pretty far to go on a bad leg."
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"Thanks," he said, trying to keep his tone upbeat so that Allen wouldn't worry. "And no, we should keep going. I mean, we didn't make it last night, so we've got to this night, right?" Part of him knew that Momo would understand if they told her they had failed a second time, but he didn't want to have to do that.
"Just wrap it tight and I'll be fine!" he finished. It was going to be a little rough, but he was sure he could handle it, and hopefully they wouldn't have any more monsters after them. That might be a problem, though maybe not if Allen could whip out that huge arm of his again!
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"Alright, I think that should do it for your leg," he dusted himself off. "We should probably get your arm too." He didn't have anything else on him though, so he tore at the hem of his shirt, trying to get an even strip of fabric he could use to at least stop the bleeding.
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