"On second thought... welcome to CURSE Island," Glass spoke to the group in front of them, "Seeing as it no longer belongs to the Pack... Transform or Dare..."
Glass didn't even bother to wait for any of the wolves to answer.
"For you're transform, you will surrender to you baser instincts and lose all concepts of love and civility and you will defend the curse to the DEATH!" Glass finished with a smile, expecting to see the eighteen wolves dissolve into the mindless sex that the gem wolves had engaged in before Kurse turned them into fraternal twin pups that were literally made out of their respective gemstones.
What hit Glass, however was a shock-wave that threw her back into one of the rapidly warping trees that Kurse was changing on the island.
"What?" Glass gasped.
"Look closely, enslaved one," Yamato said firmly as he motioned to a point on his shoulder.
Glass looked and looked hard. On some point of the body of every wolf there was the Kaji word, "protected from evil". Chiyoye's was written in white.
"The priestess sensed that the Curse would cheat," Yamato gave a confident smile, "so with her power... she has protected all of us from you with specialized ink... that CAN NOT come off until Kurse is DEAD."
"GEMS! ATTACK!" Glass screamed in blind panic, finding that even with all the powers Kurse had given her, couldn't just overpower the white magic that the white furred pup Amy wielded.
+++++++
On the other side of the island, the Pride, along with Jensen, Darla, and Alice came onto the island to find things dark and quiet. The island overgrown with thick trees that twisted in odd and unnatural shapes, many of them had large spikes growing out of the sides of them. And all of them felt the sting of evil radiating from the forest they were in.
"Samantha was right," Alice spoke, "The island MUST be burned."
"Maybe it'll revert once Amy and Paul destroy the witches," MJ commented, "You said that when she defeated Gaal, the things that were done in Gaal's attack, in addition to curse's initial brainwashing, were undone."
"Hopefully," Jensen nodded, "in the meantime... it is time to give them something to think about..."
Puzzled, the lions watched as Jensen swiped at one of the trees, which was still growing and twisting in strange ways. Ways that no tree in nature would EVER do. Even the trees in various parts of Southeast Asia that were now consuming long abandoned temples and cities.
"What was that for?" Felicity asked.
"We know it's cheating," Jensen answered, "turning everything alive with its power. The curse will likely feel the attack and call on its various monsters to try and defend it."
As if on cue, a feral snarl echoed from the treetops above them as the two remaining chimeras on the island, the third changed into the new Glass, dropped to the ground in front of them. One lunged at Jensen, while the other lunged at Brian, as the two of them were in front of the formation.
Jensen managed to just barely avoid the attack and swung a fist down on the chimera's shoulders, sending it to the ground. Lioness Megan then landed a restrained blow on the creature's head, knocking it out. Brian meanwhile caught the attacking chimera by the horns, his cat-like reflexes, literally, helping him. The chimera attempted to bite at him, raise itself to claw at Brian with his forepaws, but it's childlike size and mindless nature made it impossible to deal with a sentient lion, protected from the curse by Amy's Kanji marks, as it quickly pulled the chimera into a sleeper hold and held it there until it lost consciousness.
"That wasn't so bad," Brian commented, as Nellie began cuffing the Chimeras together, with cuffs that had been made to be able to restrain even the pride's males, "shouldn't there be more?"
More growls were heard in the darkness.
"Spoke too soon, didn't I?" Brian grumbled.
"It doesn't matter," Darla told him in the same friendly manner that the pride addressed Brian and Felicity, even though their species were now very different, "we're here to distract the curse. The witches are the ones controlling everything here. If we distract it, it can't concentrate on their real foe, which will engage them directly."
"Amy, Trevor, and Paul," Felicity nodded beside her mate, "I wish we didn't have to risk our futures against them... and Paul is still injured from your attack on our home."
"And I was wrong to," Jensen spoke back as he prepared himself, "I'm sorry. Once this is all over and the pack mates I have here are freed, I'll have them do repairs to you home... and some of the staff can clean up any of the blood that was spilled."
"We can discuss atonement later," Brian spoke as the growing snarls grew louder.
++++++
"Th...aaaiieeeeeer essss onnnn...leeee whu...un God," Paul spoke, "nnnd yuu...o arrr naaaa...ught eeet."
Amy was silent. Shintoism was made up of a pantheon of Gods... and to counter Kurse's likely thinking that Godhood made her invincible, no Shinto God or Goddess was invincible. The concept of a "God" or "Goddess" being all powerful and everlasting was a concept that came out of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian tradition. Nearly every other religion, including the pagan ones of Europe no longer worshiped did not have the same concept of invincibility. But, Amy was not about to argue with her partner. If she was right, she prayed that the Shinto Gods got along with the Christian, Islamic, Jewish God. If Paul was right, she prayed that he truly was right, and that therefore, Kurse was no God.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son," Trevor commented, trying to remember Sunday school lessons, "He was crucified died and was buried. On the third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and he sits at the right hand of Father God, Almighty!"
"Ahhh...meeenn," Paul finished.
"PRUDES!" Kurse screamed in rage and sent a blast of fire in a wide arch at all of them.
Amy and Trevor both dove away while Paul did a back flip to avoid the attack.
"No, baka," Amy said as she rolled away and readied her bow and quiver, "Just and honorable."
Amy fired the arrow as her red brush markings began to glow brightly. Paul's bible and stick began to do the same. The arrow struck Kurse in the shoulder, sending the massive black creature back several feet.
"You... hurt... me," Kurse growled as she pulled the arrow out of her.
"Then if you are a "God"," Amy spoke, "then I must tell you, that in many religions, the Gods are not truly immortal and can die. I have spoken with Chester and his worship of the wolf-god Fenrir... and while I do not agree with that religious outlook... it does bring up a good point. In the Norse religion the Gods were not all powerful and invincible and could die... and according to their legends of Ragnarok... nearly every God died as Asgard was destroyed."
Kurse only glared at the pup angrily. As if in a blind rage. She was the ultimate power. She was better then all the gods the prudes worshiped. She was chaos. It was IMPOSSIBLE to harm her... and then she felt Glass be hit by Amy's earlier Kanji mark's protection. It enraged her that Amy had managed to protect the prudes from her traps, but she was certain her followers would win. So far, she wasn't fully distracted.
+++++++
At wolf manor, Samantha lay under the blankets of the bed in the pup's room. She whimpered and whined to no end. What the curse made her do as the previous incarnation of Glass was horrible and it made her guilty. Threatening her half brothers and sisters was unforgivable... and they would surely hate her for it.
"Rest, dear," Fran told her child, stroking her cheek, "you're safe no. NO one will ever harm you again."
"But I was so bad!" Samantha cried, "So bad. They'll hate me."
"No they won't," Fran leaned over to hug her, sending all her available love into her daughter, "they know that it was the curse's influence. Not you."
"How do you know?" Samantha whimpered.
"Because we're all dealing with what WE did under the curse's influence," Fran spoke, "I liked being a cop. It doesn't mean I hate being a wolf or a triplet, but the police are still a force of good... as our pack will be now."
"Beta Fran," came Sandi's voice as the teal she wolf came in, "Where is Alpha Female Kaylee?"
"I think she was still in the main entryway while we were recovering from the curse's second attack on us," Fran answered, "Julie was tending to Mr. P as his injuries were worse... in the sense that the chimera that attacked him could have done damage to a lung."
"She isn't with him," Sandi said, "only the pups are, and Bart and Jenny are having all they can do to keep him from getting up to stand guard over them."
"Perhaps someone took her to our bedroom so she could rest in comfort there," Fran suggested.
"She isn't there Beta Fran," Sandi spoke, "I caught her scent. It lead to a mirror and vanished."
"But Samantha's been freed, and Abbey and Alice went with the strike teams..." Fran spoke and then shuddered as she felt something through Julie's connection with her. Kurse had created a NEW Glass out of one of the victims she had already seized.
"Can you watch Samantha?" Fran asked, "I need to make a call."
+++++++
The pups that looked like they were made out of gemstones attacked as rapidly as possible. And with originally fifteen "gem wolves" the now thirty wolves had Julie's team outnumbered. But only Amethyst was an adult and covered in fur... and she wasn't attacking. She continued the strange dance she was doing and slinging her own blood in a circle around her.
The gem wolves that did attack, were only pups, and even if made out of their respective gemstones, attacked in the same mindless way the chimeras attacked Jensen's group. Two dark blue Cobalt's rushed at Chiyoye, but the raven black she wolf leaped over them and landed hard kicks against both of them. Both Cobalts landed hard and skidded along the ground.
"Abbey, go back home and get the gargoyles," Julie ordered her daughter as she kept herself between Glass and her daughter, "we'll need their strength... be sure to draw Amy's mark on them. The brush she used is still at the manor."
"What about you, mommy?" Abbey asked nervously.
"Mommy will be fine," Julie said.
Abbey nodded and ran back for the closest reflective surface she could flee to. Glass began to immediately pursue, not wanting the wolves to gain any sort of advantage... but she didn't get far as Julie grabbed Glass by the tail and swung her into the tree near them as hard as she could. As with her attempt to club Alice with the bat before her transformation, Julie's move did no damage to Glass, and it left a fairly large dent in the tree.
"I am indestructible," Glass spoke the same line that Alice commonly spoke.
"But you can't kill me," Julie growled and then slung Glass to the ground.
Glass quickly found herself pinned and face down, with her arms pulled behind her and one of Julie's paws on the back of her legs.
"And thanks to my transform, I'm learning everything Fran and Darla know," Julie spoke confidently, "Surrender."
Glass struggled against Julie's grip, but found she couldn't. She wasn't physically strong enough and Julie presently had better leverage. As Julie held the crystalline wolf pup down, Abbey returned into the mirrorverse for the pack's most powerful reinforcements.
But not every wolf was doing as well.
"Get it off! Get it off!" Millie screamed as Jaspers one and two sank their teeth into her lower leg. She eventually kicked that leg and dislodged the two, but it left Millie's leg looking rather bloody.
"Ow." Millie only whimpered and readied herself for when the two Jaspers charged again.
"HIYAH!" Nicole screamed as she landed a sweeping kick against both Goldies as they charged, spinning both around, as neither appeared to anticipate any degree of skill on the part of their opponent, but then, mindless things controlled by forces worshiping Chaos rarely did. The two pups were ready again and snarled at Nicole directly.
"Bring it on," Nicole said confidently and took her own fighting stance.
The two pups charged again, only to have Nicole grab them by the heads and slam them into the ground. In doing so, Nicole noticed their disorientation as a result of it... almost as if they could be knocked out, despite what they were presently made of. It puzzled her, but then, chaos was not something that could be controlled. Kurse may like to think she has that control... but by playing to chaotic forces... all Kurse did was allow for things that even she couldn't predict to happen.
"They can be knocked out!" Nicole shouted as she then lifted the two Goldies up, ignoring their clawing at her arms, and then slammed their heads together, knocking them out.
Robyn was glad for that as she managed to catch and do a rolling kick with one Garnett, sending her flying into a tree. But she was unprepared for the other Garnett who bit the magenta she wolf in the back of one of her thighs.
Alexandra, meanwhile, kept her mind focused as she dodged the second Opal's attempt to lunge at her legs. She was not as skilled as her cousin was, but her cousin had come, Nick had come, and more importantly, her Alpha had come. She would follow whoever the Smith family's patriarch was until the end of her days. And today, that patriarch was Jensen.
Both Opals slowly began to circle the gray female as they prepared to attack. One lunged at the back of Alexandra's right leg and managed to wrap his jaws around it. Alexandra howled with pain as she was knocked to the ground by the attack. As she fell, the Opal rotated himself so that he could try to shake his head over Alexandra's knee. At the same time the second Opal came rushing for her shoulder.
She managed to grab the second Opal by the lower jaw, though he bit down onto Alexandra's paw, but to little avail at stopping the gray she wolf. Ignoring the pain, Alexandra lifted the opal pup up and slammed him down on his twin, saving her leg and knee. She then moved her other hand to Opal's rear legs and repeated the process until both twins were out cold... but in her wounded state, Alexandra would be more of a hindrance then help.
Yamato faced bravely against the two Emeralds before him. He watched as Nicole had finished off the Goldies by slamming them together, and Chiyoye did the same with the two cobalts that attacked her. And he then stood his ground as the Emeralds attacked. He side stepped one, letting it run by, and grabbed the second. It bit at one arm, but the Samurai wolf ignored the pain as if it didn't exist and slammed the second Emerald down. Once on the ground, he delivered a strong blow to the Emerald's neck, knocking it out.
It was then that he had to deal with the first Emerald, which in response to its twin being knocked out, leaped on Yamato's back and was attempting to try and crush his vertebrae. Yamato only stood up calmly and in a determined manner. The pup was strong, and his fists stung a little from knocking out the other. But this was part of what would be the final battle with the curse.
Nick growled as the second Lazuli bit into his shoulder. The first had reached him first, and he managed to grab it by the head, slam her down, and then knock the first Lazuli out with a blow to the top of the head, but the second Lazuli leaped at him as he did so, and bit into his shoulder.
"Get off!" Nick growled managed to grab the other Lazuli by the tail and pulled it off of his shoulder. It hurt like hell and left a deep open wound running from his shoulder to his elbow, and he then slammed the twin of he first against the ground until it was out cold.
"I hope Abbey returns soon with the gargoyles," Nick spoke.
Betty meanwhile was horrified by what she found as she dodged another attempt by the Quartz twins to get at her. Her nephew had been mutated into a living pup statue made out of the crystal.
"Lawrence, stop this," Betty cried, hoping she could reach her nephew the way Alice and Abbey had with Samantha, "It's me, Betty. You're Aunt! Don't you remember? Me going to your soccer games, buying you cotton candy as a kid? Don't you?
The two Quartzs only growled back, not even recognizing his aunt.
Zack, meanwhile, was far more willing to fight. He could remember seeing "cat fights" at school as he landed a sweeping kick against the two Ambers. It knocked them back and allowed Zack to sneak into a darker area of the forest around the area where they had arrived. His charcoal black fur would help conceal him and allow him to jump the two pups one at a time. It made him feel grateful. Altering the island to benefit chaotic forces was a true demonstration of power, but Zack didn't find it smart. It reminded him of the cat fights he had witnessed as girls fought over boys over the most senseless things...
Both Ambers came running after him, and were soon sniffing at the ground, but from his concealed location, Zack noticed something. No air came out of their nostrils, much like Alice, Abbey, and Samantha. If no air came out, no air could go in, thus in their present forms, they didn't breathe, like Alice, Abbey, and Samantha didn't outside the mirrorverse. One Amber began to wander down one path, while the other approached toward where Zack was waiting.
He pounced on the one that came close, and before the first Amber could do anything, Zack shoved her muzzle first into the tree he had hid behind, knocking her out. The other Amber turned when its twin was attacked and rushed toward Zack. This time, he merely waited. As that Amber got within range he kicked forward, landing a blow that threw it against another tree nearby. Zack then clubbed it with both fists while it was disoriented. With both Ambers knocked out, she set about restraining them with the cuffs the pride had provided the pack to use for the battle. Once cuffed, he began carrying them back toward the battle site.
As he got closer, he heard June howl in pain, and he immediately broke into a run, carrying the cuffed together Ambers with one arm.
June was caught in a vicious fight with both Tourmalines. She kicked at them, tripping one, and then caught the other. She slammed that Tourmaline down and managed to knock it out while was disoriented. But the other attacked her from the side and bit into the side of her stomach. The Tourmaline then shook her head hard, making June howl with pain. She tried to pull herself away, but the Tourmaline held on tight.
She ended up on her back and watched as the two cuffed Ambers suddenly came flying out of the forest nearby. They hit the Tourmaline and knocked it off June. Zack arrived a moment later landed a blow on the Tourmaline's head, knocking it out.
"Are you alright?" Zack asked.
"I'll live, if that's what your asking," June winced, her side hurt tremendously. She hoped that the pup didn't do serious damage.
Zack looked at her and lifted June up and began to carry her to where they had originally emerged from with Abbey leading.
"What are you doing?" June asked.
"Getting you to safety," Zack answered, "I don't know if Amy is right about no one dying, but I will not risk her losing her mother. I know you don't love me... that you're only with me because of what I did to Pearl... and I'm sorry. If you want a "divorce" I won't fight it... but I will not let Amy lose her mother."
"Zack..." June only said weakly.
"You know, I hate having to do this to a fellow pink wolf," Maxine said as she threw one Coral against a tree, "but you can't just keep doing these things. Fight the curse. Free yourself. Samantha did it. You can do it."
She just barely dodged the other Coral as it tried to help its twin. She grabbed it by the tail and throwing it into the first as it began to recover. The first was knocked out by the collision and the second was thoroughly disoriented.
"But if you keep this up," Maxine tried to threaten, which with her friendly nature was a rather weak attempt, "I will be forced to hurt ya."
Wolf Megan dodged as the second Carnelian leaped down at her from a rock that seemed to be growing. She couldn't understand how a rock could "grow" but the island had been warped into a world of chaos. Things that were not rational was bound to happen. She grabbed that Carnelian by her tail and slung it into the rock. As it dropped to the ground unconscious, joining the twin that Megan had already defeated, the pastel green female began to limp after Betty. Hoping to help her restrain the Quartz pups and turn them back into Lawrence. She didn't want to fight him, but if pushed, she would. Just as she had defended her brother from bullies when they were growing up, she would fight to save her pack from these witches.
Margot, howled in agony as both Topazs tore at her. One at her right arm and the other at her left ankle. Her fight had not gone well. The twins of Topaz charged at her from two sides. When she went to dodge one, she ended up going right into the other. They knocked her down and were literally trying to tear her apart.
"Help me!" Margot howled in pain as a dark shadow appeared over her. She feared it was one of Kurse's monsters, but it turned out to be Chiyoye. Despite her extremely over-sized breasts, she still moved like a ninja, and the Japanese she-wolf quickly knocked out the twin gem wolves.
"Thank you," Margot said weakly.
"You are of the pack," Chiyoye answered, "no thanks is necessary. Can you get to a... a safer area?"
Margot shook her head, "I don't think I'll be walking anywhere for awhile."
Chiyoye sighed and then lifted up Margot and began to carry the red-violet she wolf to where Zack had taken June to be away from the fighting until Abbey returned to take them home.
Ashley watched on carefully as she tried to circle with the last remaining Ruby twin. She had managed to knock out the first, but ended up with one leg being ripped open from several bite and claw wounds... the second Ruby slowly circled while Ashley tried to turn after her. After a few moments, the second Ruby twin moved to attack, but was caught from behind by Nicole.
"Thanks," Ashley said weakly.
"Don't mention it my friend," Nicole nodded, wringing her hands.
"How are we doing?" Ashley asked.
"Well... I think," Nicole answered, "nearly everyone has some small injury here and there... but the curse has made them all so mindless that they can't do anything coherent. Chiyoye, Yamato, and I have had a relatively easy go of it... and have been helping to knock out those that are still conscious... and Julie's restrained Glass... likely Fran and Darla's police knowledge."
"Thank goodness for Amy though," Ashley commented, "we'd all be just as mindless as them if not for her."
"Yes," Nicole answered, "Thank anyone you can for her. I think we'll be able to start using Father Micheal's cure on them to kill whatever "turns" Kurse gave them... and who knows. The way they've twisted things here... cheating and so forth... both Amy and Paul think that much of the instructions for it are no longer necessary and nearly infinitely more powerful. It might even revert them to what they were before Kurse took over the island or started to try and mess with us. And who knows what the cure will do to the witches in the Curse World."
"Chaos and darkness never really can win, can it?" Ashley spoke.
"In many cases they can't even make the fight tough," Nicole nodded, "they've made everything so mindless to enhance the unpredictability factor to make things chaotic... that these mutated versions of our pack mates can not think, can not plan, can not even attack in a planned way... just goes to show that CHAOS is not something worth fighting for."
"Doesn't mean they're still dangerous," Ashley warned, "and a good number of us will need to go back to the manor for medical attention, which means Julie will have to return as well... and Fran won't come because of what Kurse did to Samantha."
"Chaos must reign, chaos must reign," Amethyst danced in circles spraying her own blood everywhere, ignoring the battle going on as Yamato and Betty carried the unconscious Quartz twins back toward where the pack had arrived.
"Oh shut up!" came came Hope, Grace, and Isabelle's voices from a few feet away.
Amethyst turned to face Kaylee's three copies, "but chaos must reign. Look at it... it's so pretty... Transform or Dare... for your transform you will love me and chaos and will serve as living plush pets for Kurse and chaos!"
Again, Amy's Kanji symbols protected the pack members and the resulting shock-wave threw Amethyst to the ground.
"Kurse didn't do anything about her being a bubble head, I see," Grace commented.
"We still got to take her down," Isabelle warned as Amethyst returned to the attack.
Amethyst was quick to recover, tackling Hope and driving her claws into Hope's shoulders and then raking them down her sides. Hope screamed with pain as the gem wolf did so, but Grace and Isabelle were quick to grab Amethyst before she could kill their friend.
"Let's see how you deal with the cure," Hope snarled and pulled out the vile of the powder that Serenity had distributed to the pack, and then smashed it over Amethyst's head and shouted, "destroy the curse!"
++++++++
In the curse world, Kurse raised vines and trees out of the ground and concrete, as the curse world still resembled a vision of a wrecked and destroyed Glendale, having them lash out at Paul and Amy. Kurse paid little attention to Trevor, as he was no significant threat to her...
Amy managed to dodge the attacks by running as fast as she could and holding two arrows like daggers, slicing through any that came to close to her. For Paul, the attack was far to much like a jungle gym for him. Orangutans lived nearly all their lives in the trees, and he instinctively moved about with no trouble, even among the heart of them.
"Cuh...annne yu...ooou diss...t...roy theeeem?" Paul asked.
"The fade command will not work right now," Amy spoke, "It might weaken them, but not enough to kill them... but maybe you can drive them apart. They've somehow merged with their familiar... exorcise the witches from the familiar."
"I ma...uuust gu...eet cul...lo...seeer," Paul spoke when suddenly Kurse's attacks stopped and the twelve foot black cat woman screamed with pain and seemed to actually shrink a couple of inches.
As Kurse yowled in pain, Trevor launched his own attack. Having kept low and out of the way he had gotten behind Kurse, in the perfect ambush point, and while she screamed in pain, he rushed forward and sank his fangs into Kurse's lower right leg while clawing at the spot behind her knees with one hand.
Kurse managed to kick him off of her, and was left in a blind rage. Those that had invaded her chaotic paradise had brought the wretched cure that the orangutan's brother had created and it had been used... and what shocked Kurse most was that the rules that typically applied to the application of that cure NO longer applied. No carefully made circle, no speaking of latin... just a command to end the curse. Kurse also sensed that the wretched powder not only killed any turns her victim had, but reverted her victim to the form he/she had had before Kurse's arrival on the island... Amethyst was now free of their control and would likely side with her pack to try and free the gem wolves.
"How can you have done this?!" Kurse growled in anger turning to the orangutan who was also a Catholic Priest and the white furred pup that was a reincarnated Shinto Priestess, "you're breaking my beautiful chaos!"
The gem wolves had been beaten, though the pack there was in no shape to really continue fighting other then a small handful of members. Jensen, Darla, Alice, and the Pride had yet to run into all the monsters the curse had gathered yet, but Amethyst being restored to her wolf form before Kurse's arrival on Big Bad Island was a shock that Kurse couldn't ignore. Jensen wasn't that important anymore. Kurse to figure out what the two who posed the most direct threat to her had done.
"We have done nothing," Amy spoke as she readied another arrow and fired it at Kurse, hitting the over-sized black cat in the same shoulder as before, "it is your own worship of chaos that has done it. You've been cheating to create your "paradise" and making things ugly, but you fail to realize that that goes both ways. The cure created by the Western sorcerer, Merlin Ambrosius gained power from your own perversions here, because you broke the rules. If you remained behind the rules you laid on Glendale, the cure would have to follow its rules as well... and its effect would be smaller... but since you've been cheating, your own demise will come, mostly by your OWN hand."
Kurse only snarled at the white and red pup, who showed no fear. Trevor also came to stand behind the pup as well, possibly bruised, but no worse then that. Paul hung from a nearby tree branch that Kurse had raised and pointed his bible at her.
Paul then spoke verbally in perfect Medieval Church Latin, "Fall foul DEMON!"
And a blinding white light sizzled through the curse world, sending Kurse through a wall of a toppled building.