Nugget stared up at the wolf. He was just as large and imposing as the first time she saw him, hidden in the mist. A chicken's natural predator, a hungry wolf. He terrorized her when they first met. Cruelty and pain were all he had to offer the hen.

Now they stood on uneasy ground. Nugget had cleared the path for the wolf to murder his enslaver. They had fought under the scientist's orders, but now there was a question that seemed to hang in the air between them.

Why?

Both stood their ground. Their eyes locked and their breathing in sync. The ruins of the battlefield all around them. The destroyed remains of the spider-bots. The fading glow of the white-hot metal ball the wolf stood in. Even the ground had been absolutely destroyed. Turned from a flat plane into a jagged hellscape with crevices and spires around every corner.

The wolf closed his eyes first. He stood still a moment as he lifted his nose towards the sky. He opened his eyes, and they were completely calm. Slowly, he lowered his gaze back to Nugget and in a flash his calm expression was consumed by bloodlust and fury.

His anger. His passion. His murderous intent. All of it swirled together and came pouring out of him as his muscles themselves seemed to strain under the unbridled rage that grew within him.

Nugget steeled her gaze. She returned his fury with her own. Her devotion. Her desires. Her will to move forward. Her desire to prove she's so much more than she appears. It all culminated in and around her as the two of them prepared to fight.

The two of them were warriors. Fighters with their own pride and desires. How else could this have gone? No, it was inevitable. Only one of them would walk away from this battlefield.

The wolf bit down on the knife in his mouth. Electricity shot off of it like lightning. It arced all around the wolf as the blade's edge glowed green. His desire to kill was so obvious even a casual observer would've been able to feel the weight of his gaze.

He made the first move. He leaped towards Nugget. His movement was so fast, even though Nugget started to leap to the side as he lurched forward, his shoulder still managed to knock into her.

But the wolf just moved past her. Then, a moment later, the sonic boom hit her. She was knocked back even further as the wolf turned his blood thirsty gaze back onto her.

He leaped right past her again, and before she could react another sonic boom rang out like thunder as it knocked her to the side again. While she was still spinning in the air, he leaped towards her again.

This time, Nugget flexed all her muscles. She turned her eyes towards the wolf and then exploded in blue flames. The wolf was knocked back by the force of the expanding flames. He flipped head over tail and managed to land on his feet on top of a particularly large spire.

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Consumed in fire, Nugget turned towards the wolf. Like a blue phoenix she spread her wings made of fire and lunged towards the beast.

FWOOOM!

Unbearable heat poured off of Nugget as she flew towards the wolf like a bullet. The wolf seemed determined not to move and met her head on. He clashed with her flaming beak with his dagger.

Every second, his rage seemed to grow. But even as he managed to hold back Nugget's attack, the ground beneath him started to glow red from the heat pouring off of her. The wolf scowled and twisted his head to the side. As Nugget got closer to him, he leaped off to the opposite side and let out a low growl.

The flames slowly rose up into the sky as they broke apart piece by piece. Nugget remained behind. She turned her head to the side to stare at the wolf.

He had a few small wisps of smoke rising up off of his massive body. The ends of a few of his hairs had gotten singed as he escaped. His eyes darted around her as he seemed to look for something specific.

Finally, he narrowed his eyes at Nugget. Then, he loosened his grip on his knife. As the green edge disappeared, he twisted around and sheathed the knife back in his belt. When he turned back to Nugget, he twisted his head to one side and then the other. He took in a deep breath, and then flung his head back as he howled.

"AWOOOOO!" he cried with all of the lung capacity he could master.

His cry was loud to begin with, but it kept increasing in volume. Louder and louder, until the smaller pebbles on the ground began to rattle from the reverberations of his voice.

Nugget didn't turn to face him directly. She stayed in her same spot with her head twisted towards him. She withstood the attack of his high-pitched howl, and she even seemed to be daring him to try and attack her. But when his lungs finally ran out of air, he just lowered his head back down and glared at her.

His eyes looked like those of a lion looking down on a mouse who had bitten his paw. Incredulous and furious. He snapped his jaw towards her, almost like a taunt. Then, he lifted his robotic foot into the air.

Nugget's eyes narrowed. Then, in one smooth motion, she turned toward him and leaped into the air. As she left the ground, blue fire burst from her taut muscles. Almost immediately, it encompassed her entire body. Again, she was a bird made of fire so hot it was blue.

WHOOM!

Despite her speed, the wolf was able to slam his foot down before she could stop him. Another massive shockwave erupted out from him. The ground splintered and blew apart again. Despite her fiery form, even she was blown back by the force of the blast.

The wolf didn't relent. He immediately followed behind the shockwave. His jaw stretched wide open as he got close to the hen.

Nugget was spinning beak over tail feathers as the ground around her crumbled to the force of the mechanically assisted stomp. But she managed to see the wolf approach her, and despite her lack of proper orientation, she managed to land a talon on his nose that she used to straighten herself up.

She tensed her muscles and as she flames began to pour off of her, the wolf shook her from his nose. She burst into her fiery splendor a moment later as the wolf snarled angrily at her.

She tried to tackle the wolf.

But he leaped out of the way and retaliated by hitting her with a sonic boom.

She tried to claw the wolf with her flaming talons.

But he disappeared just before her claws could hit their mark.

They traded blows back and forth, but neither of them could get anything better than a glancing blow.

Finally, Nugget turned her back to him, and turned her head back to stare at him. The wolf was angry and lifted his mechanical leg. Nugget repeated what she had done last time. She quickly spun around and burst into flames as she flew towards him. But again, the wolf was too quick. He knocked her back with the shockwave from his stomp.

But this time, when the wolf approached, Nugget didn't do anything.

CRACK!

The wolf's powerful jaw, assisted by the robotics that surrounded them, completely crushed her leg between his teeth.

Nugget cried out in pain "CCAAAWWW!!!" But despite that, she looked up to stare the wolf in the eyes as she grabbed his nostrils with her other foot. Blue flames began to surround her, and the wolf's eyes opened wide in shock as he seemed to realize what he had just set himself up for.

FWOOOSH!

Fire engulfed both of them as Nugget refused to let go of the wolf. Her leg may have been broken, but he was now surrounded in flames hot enough to melt steel.