Chapter Twenty: Bedlam's Rampage.

"always trust your instincts. after all, you have them for a reason."

-emperorwolf's mantra.

having seen the beyond enormous red wolf approaching from afar, the residents of Buki Bero and Giki Kero fled, evacuating as fast as was physically possible, giants ran as fast as their paws could carry them, the other citizens sped off either through the pipeline network on foot or by car, or the surface streets if they were with a giant.

by the time Bedlam entered the puny city, it was half empty. this annoyed him.
he remembered how much praise had been given to the others when they had returned from earth on the day they fought Project Legion, against the Pirapactum Harbinger, they were treated like heroes, but how did they treat him? what did Collin recieve as thanks?
the puplic had only glared scornfully at him, designating him as an altered human and therefore flawed in some unspecified way. he'd been shoved aside, ignored when their victory was celebrated, the same celebration now mocking his deceased comrade and once leader.
"you'll pay for everything you've done... you worthless Insects... you revolting piles of Trash."
he swung his vermillion paws at a tall office bilding, the glass cracked and gave way to his paws, splintering and smashing everything inside until they pierced the building clean through.
he shook his arms, tearing down the skyscraper and two others beside it with a simple flick of his arms.
far below, tiny Gikis fled before his humongous paws, and an intoxicating sense of power surged through him as he chased them, only just barely missing them each time, each time they only narrowly avoided falling underfoot, all for his twisted amusement.
"i'm glad Sillias is destroyed," Bedlam Collin yipped as he continued to 'play' with the fleeing masses "it'd've been a shame to've missed out on this!"

nearby in the hospital, Zenef and Gar were by Beta's bedside, preparing to move the still comatose wolf.
hoisting him over their shoulders proved difficult, Zenef was only five, Gar was seven, but Beta was at least Seventeen years old, maybe older, and that meant he was more than a little heavy.
especially with the breathing mask and air tank on him.
"crud! Zenef groaned as they moved "he's heavier than he looks!"
Gar puffed, equally struggling to get the wolf out "no kidding! the heck's he made out of, lead?!"
another tremor shook the building, almost knocking the brothers to the ground.
"c'mon, Gar, we gotta move!"
"no argument!" his older brother replied in panic.

Alpha and Lothis follwed behind them, worried for the brothers' survival.
'HURRY! THE WHOLE PLACE IS LIABLE TO COME DOWN!!' the golden spectral wolf called in fear.
"yes, pick up the pace!!" the cobalt-blue spectral husky panicked.
Zenef whimpered pitifully "Beta, we need you!"

---

Beta could hear Zenef pleading for him to wake, but he couldn't move, it was like he was watching through someone else's body.
in fact, he sort of was.
his ebony-black coloured astral projection hovered beside his body, concerned for his own survival.
a white astral mongoose floated next to him, a look of concern on its face as well.
"this is not right, my master, you cannot die, your existance would be erased!"
Beta growled "you think i've forgotten?! i'm all that's physically left of 999, don't lecture me!"
the mongoose sighed "you mustn't let the creature outside do this."
"oh, like you'll do much different USM."
the ivory-white mongoose sighed in annoyance "i am here for a reason, master, a reason you decided on."
"but that timeline should've been erased," the wolf countered "you shouldn't exist!"
the mongoose scowled.
"and on top of that, USM, you're an AI, how're you even surviving on the astral plane?"
"there is no difference," the AI growled "between organic data and digital data. your astral projection is comparitive to a program running off a server, in this case, your body."
USM floated away, leaving Beta with the four other canids who could not see him.
"that damned AI, why the hell would i make something like that?!" Beta snarled, then turned and thrust his paw through Alpha's head, which made the spectre flinch.

---

'wha- who's there?!' Alpha panicked as an odd dizziness shot through his head, which didn't make sense as he didn't have any organs in there to get dizzy...

the three looked at him, Lothis floated over and looked into his emerald-green eyes. "are you alright? what happened?"
'something... made me dizzy...'
"what? but you're a ghost, how can you even...?"
Zenef gestured Alpha over.
"are you alright?"
'i... i dunno...'

another bolt of dizziness hit him, lingering this time.
he collapsed to the ground, his golden body flickering like an image on a damaged screen.

Listen to me, Alpha! there's no time, just blast the wall out!

Alpha clutched his translucent head in pain, the voice was making things worse.
but, he splayed out his paws toward the wall and pressure condensed at it, the implosion caused the wall to blow out and leave a hole large enough for Zenef and Gar to pass through.
off in the distance was the vermillion wolf, a hundred times their size.
'we need to get out,' Alpha groaned 'but how the hell do we avoid THAT?!'

an intense static feeling tore through Alpha, and that was when he saw his ebony counterpart appear before him, fully formed, and fully spectral.
"Alpha, listen, you need to get my body out of here, then, we need to converge with Zenef."
"how? what's going on, Beta?" the golden wolf asked with a growl.
Zenef's eyes were wide "Alpha... you actually spoke!"

before an explanation could be given, or even requested, the vermillion wolf began charging in their direction with purpose, clearly after them specifically as he crushed abandonned cars and left huge craters in the road and buildings around him.

Gar screamed "I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Zenef, Beta and Alpha all looked at each other.
"nobody dies today," the ebony wolf snarled, his ruby-red eyes flashing with light "not if we get our say in this!"
Alpha nodded, his eyes illuminating with emerald-green light.
Zenef's eyes began glowing as well, with an intense, sapphire-blue flare.

the two wolf-spectres flew into Zenef's body, and he started to emit pressure into the air around him.
the two lupines' voices filled the air, echoing.

the Alpha gives himself over, surrendering the chain of command to his benevolent host...
Zenef started radiating a golden aura...

the Beta submits, giving his leader his support as he stands to protect him...
blackness joined the gold in Zenef's aura...

finally, Zenef felt compelled to recite an incantation...
"when all three parts become a whole once again, 'the prince' begins his aristocratic ascent, rising to a new level of power beyond civility, and from deep inside him, where his true power lies dormant..."

the vermillion wolf thundered closer, his black, voidlike eyes fixed on Zenef.

Zenef screamed, the voices of Alpha and Beta joining his own, young, mature, and adult all at once.

"THE OMEGA RISES, TO STAND AND FIGHT!!"
silver flames mingled with the gold and black in Zenef's aura, and new garments materialised on his body.
night-black greaves adorned with rubies imbedded in the ankles and over his leg joints formed on his legs, shining golden, clawed gauntlets clasped themselves to his arms, emeralds in the knuckles, and a silvery victorian-era aristocrat's coat thread itself over his upper body.
sappire, vein-like markings traced wing-esque shapes next to his eyes, and his irises turned a stunning green-edged blue, and his pupils became slits and turned red.

pure power coursed through him, charging every muscle, overflowing his canine body with a new, mighty force.

Gar stared at his sibling, mouth gaping and his expression one of shock, but he and Lothis said nothing.

a newcomer entered the hall, sighing.
it was Albert Dyson.
the man ran a hand through his white hair, and as he approached, it became clear that he looked quite envious.
"so, apprentice... you are more than a simple pseudo-herald, aren't you?"
Omega-Zenef chuckled in his tri-voiced speech "i think that goes without saying."
the booming outside was getting louder.
Dyson smiled carelessly "now i understand what this is about, i'd know that second voice anywhere, my old friend, my noble-dressing wolf to be precise, yes?"
"yeah, it's more complex, but yes, he's in here."
the death-omen tread of the vermillion wolf came from just outside...
Dyson turned on his heels and quickly walked off
"good luck with Bedlam!"

Bedlam stared at the source of the power he'd sensed, seeing the tiny canine in the building at chest hight.
"you?!"
the tiny canine returned the expression of surprise, still speaking in his trilogous voice "Collin? Sillias posessed you?"
he shook his head and absently started breaking windows on the hospital building with his claws like one pops bubblewrap.
"Sillias tried, but his mind broke, it left the Bedlam power to me, and only me."
"that energy warps minds, collin, you're not yourself right now, you need to calm down!" Omega-Zenef urged Bedlam Collin, but the wolf meerly barked at him and turned away, bringing down a powerline as his tail swatted it.
"he may be part of you, but you are NOTHING compared to your predecessor."
his words cut deep, tinged with a venom that toxified his heart, knowing that Collin knew the real wolf that Alpha and Beta were originally, he knew the level of power he used to have, and, although nobody else could ever understand why or how, that caused him more pain than any physical wound ever could.
"you can't do this..."
"YOU don't get to give me orders!" Bedlam snapped at him, before clenching his teeth and trembling as if he was about to start crying, and, with a voice that could make even the bravest drop dead, he added "not anymore, at least."

as Bedlam thudded away, consiously striking down buildings just because he could, Zenef felt his anger welling up inside, his hackles rising as well as he clenched his fists and bared his fangs in a snarl.
(say it,) Beta's thoughts demanded in his head (he has no right.)
Zenef barked loudly at the leaving lupine, screaming out an insult in ildellessian.
"ZUTIQUA JINNACHE!"
the second he'd said it, he was glad Collin didn't speak the language, or he'd likely have turned and brought the building down on him.
Gar managed a hoarse whisper "did you just call him a... 'C-word' head?!"
Zenef clasped his paws to his muzzle to muffle himself.
"i think i did." he said sheepishly.

Bailey walked through the city, frightened, and following collin's trail of destruction.
Kevin and Oriado were right behind him, equally freaked out.
"this... must be what it's like from their perspective..." the black wolf remarked.
"somethin' like it..." Kevin said, wringing his paws in discomfort "i remember being safer though..."
Bailey whimpered "this is just like... my nightmares... except no one's dead..."
there was an audiable gulp from Oriado "w-well, that's a good thing..."
their son shook his head "no it's not... 'cause he's right there."
Bailey pointed just ahead, where the vermillion-furred wolf towered high above, swiping and kicking at the surrounding structures.
while his fathers whimpered and cowered, Bailey felt compelled to follow his nightmare's path, and soon found himself at the heel of the megalithic wolf.
he didn't know why, but it seemed right to follow the outline his nightmare had layed out.
so just as in his dream, he pleaded with the humongous creature, and just like then, he initially ignored him.
he recalled something he did in the nightmare, and put his paw on Collin's ankle.
he noticed, bellowed, and his paw thrust toward Bailey.

acting on a master-to-pet instinct, the wolfdog closed his eyes and spoke as calmly and clearly as he could manage "col... don't be a bad boy..."
the paw slowed, and the huge red fingers carefully picked him up, raising him slowly to his muzzle.
when Bedlam Collin spoke, his voice was no more than a pained whisper.
"B-Bailey...?"
"it's me, yeah."
the black orbs of Collin's eyes looked at him like he was some sort of treasure "and... you're not scared?"
"of course i'm scared..." he replied, his ears folding "but... you promised..."
that won a slight smile "guess i did..."
white irises opened up in the blackness, followed by his pupils.
"welcome back, Col."
tears formed in Collin's eyes as the vermillion shade in his fur slowly started to bleach itself out.
"good to be back, and you're lucky; the only person i'd never harm is you."
the red completely drained from Collin's fur, and his eyes normalised, only now they were adorned by brilliant blue irises.
but he was still huge.

the redness flowed from his body and crystalised, forming a fully manifested crimson canine wearing nothing but a pair of black jeans over his medium-thick crimson fur.
"AARGH!" the creature cried out, breathing heavily.
"sillias?" Collin asked, almost dumbstruck.
"yes!" his adversary answered breathlessly "without your mind interfering, i could repair my own, and it seems..." he gestured to his body "... that i gathered enough of your genetic information along with the other wolf's to build a new body!"

Collin looked down at the canid in his paws and smiled "ha! he thinks he can win."
"must be crazy." Bailey joked.
Collin tucked Bailey into his breast pocket delicately "must be. now, be a good little hybrid and stay safe in there, alright?"
"okay! kick his butt!!" Bailey called back with force.
Oriado and Kevin had moved to the top of a nearby building, standing level with Collin's knees, and they were calling out encouragement as well.
in fact, words of praise and encouragement were coming out from everywhere, the citizens of the city were far out on the edges of the district, but were giving him support nonetheless.

Collin cracked his knuckles and stared Bedlam down.
"okay, you walking red junkheap..."
"walking red WHAT?!" Sillias interjected.
"... time for someone to break you." Collin finished with a smart-assed smile and a predatory glare.

(Next Chapter: Mess with me, whatever, i don't care. but, mess with my friends, I PUNCH YOUR FACE!)