Something was off. Bakade and Nugget unleashed a barrage of claws. The wolf seemed to have been put on the defensive. His knife having been knocked away and lying loose on the ground.

He was able to avoid their strikes, but he didn't strike back. There were even several small openings, but still he stayed back.

Electricity sparked over the wolf's body, and he froze in place while he grit his teeth in pain. Blood sprayed into the air as Bakade's claw sunk deep into his flesh. Nugget's talon scraped dangerously close to his flesh and blood eye that stared unblinking.

"You idiot!" The voice howled. "I warned you about this! Now see where your pride has gotten you."

Bakade pulled her hand back out of the wolf, and as it popped out of his flesh, more blood sprayed out. Nugget looked up at the wolf and slightly tilted her head.

As Bakade lifted her hand up she stared down at the wolf angrily. Before she could strike again, Nugget leaped up between them, and flapped in Bakade's face. Bakade took a step back as Nugget slowly shook her head.

Nugget landed on the ground and hopped back away from the wolf. Bakade followed suit and with blood dripping down her long claws, she took a few steps back from the wolf who was still standing still.

Blood practically poured out from the wolf as it just stood there. The feathers on Nugget's head ruffled as she stared at the wolf. Then, her eyes shot wide open.

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"Bawk, bawk!" She cried as she turned and began to sprint away.

Bakade hesitated for just a moment, and then she followed behind Nugget.

The whole time, the wolf just stood there bleeding, but the liquid dripping from it wasn't just dark red blood. A darker liquid that was almost black, but with a tinge of yellow sat with the blood but seemed to refuse to mix with it at all. Sticking to creating its own pathways and pools through the red liquid.

The wolf's eyes stared as the two of them ran away. He opened his mouth, and more of the strange, dark liquid poured out and pooled along the ground around him. He stepped his mechanical leg right into the middle of the puddle, and then his foot slammed down further into the rock like it had before.

Time itself almost seemed to slow down. As his foot sent out fresh shockwaves, a spark arced off from where his claws scraped against the stone. The lone spark landed on the strange liquid, and it immediately caught fire.

It was only on fire for a brief second, as the viscous liquid was so potently flammable, that it effectively caused an explosion as it couldn't spread the fire fast enough.

"What did you..."

The wolf was quickly engulfed in the fiery blast as it spread out from him like a giant ball. The pylons nearby were bombarded with a wall of flames as it spread out towards Nugget and Bakade.

Nugget kept her head forward as she ran. She narrowed her eyes as the heat quickly caught up with her.

"Uuuuhhhh oooohhhh," groaned Bakade as she turned her head back and saw the quickly approaching explosion.

Luckily, they seemed to have gotten enough of a head start to keep far enough away. Then, the shockwave that the wolf had first sent through the ground reached them. The ground splintered again and caused them both to stumble.

It wasn't much, but it was enough for the fire to quickly catch and overtake them.

The fireball didn't seem to act like any sort of explosion or fire normally would. Almost like it was intent on hitting both of them. But Nugget was quick enough to avoid most of the damage.

As the fire approached, she slid down into a fresh crack, and used a jagged chunk of the floor as shelter. Her left wing still got singed with a few bits of the flesh torn back to reveal the nerves underneath.

Bakade was not so lucky. She had been hit by the full brunt of the blast. Her body was now covered in black soot and the acrid smell of burnt hair and flesh. Like a devilish concoction of fatty bacon, charcoal, and rotten eggs.

The wolf looked no better, except his hair seemed to fare better. With none of it really looking burned at all, but the smell of fire came off of him in waves as he lied unmoving on the ground.