Chapter Fourteen: Where the Wild Fangs Are

I woke up as a puddle, every inch of my being aching. Fang was right, being blown up hurts. It took a few minutes for me to be able to move again, let alone be aware of my surroundings. That was when it hit me. “Lee-Ann!”, I shouted to no one. I scanned my surroundings desperately. She was nowhere, and neither was Fang. He must have taken her while I was having those flashbacks. I feared the worst, and in my flailing about, I noticed something attached to my mask. I picked off a sticky note that had only a few words scrawled across it. The handwriting was awful, but I was able to just barely make it out. “Want her back? Come to the Zoo” That’s it, come to the zoo? Nothing witty or cruel? I changed to a crude four legged form, and bolted towards the city as fast as I could. I had to find the zoo and save Lee-Ann.

Luckily, the zoo was apparently a big attraction in the city and there were signs for it all over. I bolted through the city streets, pushing through crowds and knocking people over. I didn’t have the time to be polite, if Fang got bored waiting for me god knows what he’d do to her. Luckily I was moving so fast, people didn’t get a good enough look at me, and just assumed someone’s dog had gotten loose. As I ran through the city streets I only thought of two things: One, was hoping that Lee-Ann was ok. The other, was all the ways I’d hurt Fang if he laid a single finger on her. After what felt like an hour of running, I reached the gates of the zoo. They were surprisingly elaborate, the gate itself being made of shined brass twirling and twisting like vines, two stone lions stood vigilant on pillars at either end of the gate as if watching over it silently. Upon further inspection I realized the gates were locked, meaning the zoo was closed. I was glad, no innocents meant this will be easier, but I was also concerned. A place like a zoo is the perfect place for Fang. He had the home field advantage here, but I had something he didn’t: something worth fighting for. I slid my mask under the gate, and then pushed myself through the holes in the twisting brass. Once I was through, I picked up my mask, put it back on my face, and resumed my normal humanoid shape.

I looked around to try and find were he might be hiding her, but I didn’t have to look for long. I heard her scream from across the zoo, “LET ME DOWN YOU FRUITCAKE!!”  The scream came from the alligator enclosure. Of course, where else would he take her? I ran over and stopped in front of the chest-high stone wall that stopped peoples kids from falling in. “You don’t REALLY want me to let go, do you? Let’s think about that for a second gyehehe.” He was hanging upside-down from a tree over the water, holding Lee-Ann by her ankle, and dangling her over the hungry mouths below.  “Lee-Ann!” I shouted, drawing the attention of both her and Fang, who grinned madly upon seeing me. “Well, look who finally got done exploding! Glad you could join us squishy! GYAHAHA!” I began reaching my arm out, to grab Lee-Ann from him, but he held up his hand saying, “If you reach any closer, I’ll drop her. Here’s how we’re gunna do this squishy, on the count of three I'm gunna throw her into the air as hard as I can. If you catch her first, yay good for you, you’re the hero blah blah blah. But if I catch her first, she’s gator bait. Deal?” I pulled my hand back, filled with rage.

“I don’t have much choice, do I?” He laughed madly and grinned that cheshire grin of his. “No. No you don’t. Here Goes!” As Fang began to count, I coiled myself around like a snake. “One.” I coiled tighter, making myself like a spring. “Two.” I aimed myself best I could to where I thought she’d end up. I had no idea how hard Fang could throw. “THREE!!” As soon as those words left his lips, I released, kicking off the ground and shooting upwards as he threw her up into the air, screaming. With that, he flipped up on the tree branch and jumped straight into the air after us. I reached her first, enveloping her inside myself, and then barreled back down towards Fang. As he saw me coming, he extended his claws and continued to rise towards me. I made a large fist and aimed it straight for his face, using the momentum from the fall as a driving force. We met mid-air, his claws were blocked by my mask while my fist connected with his face, driving us both back towards the earth.  We landed with a crash into the alligator enclosure, dust flying out from where we had landed. My body absorbed most of the impact and kept Lee-Ann from feeling most of it. As we both rose from the ground, the gators began to surface from the water and walk towards us, snarling and hissing. Fang turned and glared at them, letting loose a bellowing roar. The alligators quickly retreated, recognizing that Fang was definitely not on the menu. He then turned to me and smiled saying, “I don’t care if they eat the girl, but you’re mine. That was quite the move squishy, I'm glad to see you plan to make this fun” With that, he leapt back up to the tree, and then out of the enclosure beckoning me to follow. “Come on squishy, drop your cargo and lets do this for real!” I was surprised he was willing to let me drop Lee-Ann somewhere safe. But when I thought it over, it made sense. He really didn’t care about her, he just wanted me and was using her to get me here. I grappled the wall of the enclosure with a tendril and pulled myself out, letting Lee-Ann free once we were on solid ground again. She was sitting on the ground leaning on the wall, shaking and scared, but mostly unharmed. She looked up at me and spoke quietly, “Do what you have to do. I don’t care how. But make him pay.” I rested and hand on her shoulder and nodded. “You know I will.” With that, I turned and followed Fang across the zoo determined to take him down.

I caught up with him between the tiger and lion exhibits. He was standing there, waiting for me with that mad smile. “Welcome squishy. It’s time to end this. Let’s find your weak spot, shall we?” He bared his claws and positioned himself to pounce, drooling slightly. “It’s time we end this Fang. I’m going to make you regret touching her.” He laughed at this and ran towards me, claws outstretched. “Gyahaa! I like the new you! When did you get so serious squishy?”  I formed my arms into a crude shield and tightened the muscle instinctively. As his claws met my shield, he was pushed back slightly and looked surprised. “I didn’t think you remembered how to weaponize yourself. That ought to make this interesting.” He smiled again and began slashing like mad, trying to break through. Oddly, I barely felt his claws as they repeatedly slashed across my hardened skin. This must be what he meant by “weaponize yourself”, when I tighten my muscles to this extent it’s as if they’re made of steel. And if it works as a shield, could it work as a sword? I made a tendril and tightened the muscles as much as I could, and brought it down across Fang’s chest. He stepped back and looked down to see a slash across his chest. He stared at it for a moment before it sealed itself, leaving a small line of blood where it had once been. He looked back up at me, slightly surprised. “That blade of yours has gotten sharper since last we sparred squishy. Looks like it’s time to get serious.”

 His entire demeanor changed, as his eyes narrowed and he bared his fangs at me, charging forward, faster than before. I raised my shield again to block him but instead of striking he leapt over and landed behind me, impaling me with his claws from behind. It hurt like hell, but luckily wasn’t near enough to kill me. But it served to show me that the Fang I had fought up until now was nothing compared to the one I was facing now. I swung at him with my blade arm, but he jumped back and avoided it. I sprouted three more blades from my back and launched them at him, each one slamming into the ground as he dodge, flipping through the air with surprising grace. Once back on his feet, he lunged forward with such speed he left a cloud of dust behind him as he ran, giving me barely enough time to form a shield as his claws came down. His claws were moving at blinding speeds, attempting to cut through my shield. I made a fist and brought it down on his head like a hammer, slamming him into the ground. I wrapped a tendril around his neck and lifted him off the ground, looking into his rage-filled eyes. “It ends now. Let the tigers have their way with you.” I whipped him around and threw him into the tiger enclosure, watching as he slammed into the wall face first before falling to the ground.