The Dream That Turned Real - Resurrection

Part III

Earlier...

Lycaon then explained how it would all go down: He makes the portal to the Canine Underworld, Rokar uses his magic to keep the portal open, and once they got the three out, he would call Rokar and tell him to ready the portal, and they get out, riding to the Inne for refreshments, and celebration for a sucessful mission.

Horscht, being a former trucker, would bring the bikes in the TranSahara Turbo GT, as Zeke called it, while Bane drove Mike's Leone down there. They both knew the dangers, so they were prepared. Especially if they found Mike, and he saw they were using his vehicle without his consent.

=============================================================================

At WolfWerkz...

"Wait, wait, wait, now. Lemme get this straight: Now we gotta go after THREE guys now?!" Bane scowled at Zeke.

"Yeah, i know, one aftah the other. Mike gets flatlined, Dan gets iced, and now Ry gets offed by the fox." Zeke replied.

"Why did that even happen to Ryan? He's a good guy."

"Apparently, one of the Rovers picked a fight with'im."

=============================================================================

At the Yiffe Inne Motel...

Blitz was back to his whiny, pathetic self, as he sat on the bed, bawling his eyes out.

"WAH-HA-HAHH, I killed him, why, i can't believe i did that! Why?! AH-HWAAAHH!"

He could be heard even through the closed door, as the other Rovers stayed in the room across from the Doberman's, with thier door shut.

"Jeez, he's a train wreck! Should he even go with us down there?" Muzzle asked the other two as they leaned their ears on the solid oak door.

"Like i said, he's got weapons, and he knows how to use them." Hunter told the Rottie.

"But, how did Weird-Boy go from being Mister Macho back into Weird-Boy?" Exile added.

"That's probably how all Dobermans are; all proud of themselves at first, then they high-tail it in the face of danger, heh."

"Muzz, that wasn't funny." Hunter warned him.

"Was i laughing?"

Back outside in the hallway, Kraig was at Blitz'z door with something to eat. He knocked, and was soon greeted by the canosapien, who took the food from the fox, and invited him inside to make amends, followed by a half-hour of grooming and pampering, which Kraig didn't mind. Dan usually prefered to his own grooming, without the fox's assistance.

"Kraig, you really know how to spruce a dog up." Blitz said as he admired himself in the mirror, flexing and posing in front of the mirror. Kraig just smiled and watched.

"Hello, is anyone here?" came a voice in the main room, before footsteps were heard.

"Who's that?" Blitz asked.

"I don't know. I'll go ch-" Kraig said as he turned to the door, only to have three giant forms blocking it.

The fox almost fell on his tail, had the form in the center not grabbed his hand and pulled him back up.

"Hay, who are you guys?" the doberman asked the shadowy figures.

"'Hay' is for equines, chump." the form to the left said.

Blitz's claws sprung out of his fingers, and he showed his fangs, ready to pounce.

The three forms stepped out of the shadows. One was a wolf, the one to his right a bear, and to his left was an avian of sorts, all of them in armor.

"Perhaps we need to start over." the avian said in his soft voice. "I am Beakwood. This is Greyfus, and Tedium. We are Animaloids, known as the Beast Warriors."

Kraigs eyes lit up, and smiled hugely like a fan-boy in front of his favorite character.

"Whoah, who do we have here?" Hunter said as he and the other Rovers came out of their room. The Beast Warriors turned to see the Rovers. "Neat armor."

After some rather long introductions, they went into the bar for refreshments and snacks.

(Instrumental version of Standing Outside The Fire by Garth Brooks plays in background)

"Huh, what is this?" Greyfus asked, looking at his food.

"It's called a hamburger, and these are french fries." Hunter told the wolf.

"They don't look french to me." Tedium said as he tried them out.

Greyfus sniffed the burger first, taking a liking to the scent, then took a bite.

"Whoa!"

"You okay, there, Greyfus?" Beakwood asked.

"These are delicious!" the wolf enthusiastically said.

"There's more where that came from." Kraig said, setting down a plate full of burgers.

In a ten second time-lapse, the Beast Warriors finished off the entire plate, with Greyfus licking the plate clean. Kraig was wide-eyed at the sight. Everyone was, actually.

"Man, i am full!" Tedium said with a victorious belch. Greyfus sniffed around before looking at the fox.

"That's all there is for now, Greyfus." the fox told him.

"Take his advice seriously. You don't wanna get fat, do you, wolfboy?" Tedium cracked.

Everyone was just about to make for the door when Lycaon came in.

(Record scratches)

"My liege!" Greyfus said, instantly bowing in front of the other wolf. Tedium and Beakwood stared at the two.

"I-i'm sorry, do i know you?" Lycaon asked, confused.

"I heard your call to arms all the way from Athalia. I couldn't refuse a task as harrowing as this."

"And your name is?"

"Greyfus, Sir."

"Ah, okay. Seeing as you're not from around here, you and your friends can rest for now. Don't get too relaxed, though, we still have plans to go over."

===================================================================================

At WolfWerkz...

"So, what are we doin' to these bikes again?" Nate asked Zeke as they stared at an army of brand-new Dodge Tomahawk motorcycles, about a hundred in all.

"We're gonna turn these bikes into Hellrunners."

"And what do they top out at, stock?"

"Specs say four hundred with the Viper-derived vee-ten."

"Holy shit, these babies are fuckin' widowmakers, then!" Bane said, puffing on a cigar.

"Bane, put that out!" Zeke said, getting a loud growl in return as the black werewolf put out the cigarette... on his nose, not flinching as it burned the sensitive flesh there.

"All right, so we got the exhausts linking up to the afterburners, which are then hooked up to the main rockets, boosting the speed to almost fourteen hundred miles an hour, or five football fields a second." Hug said, looking at the hologram projected by his wristwatch.

"Hey, where'd you get the fancy watch from?" Bane asked.

"I made it."

"Got enough for the entire class?" Zeke asked.

"Way ahead of you. And we all know that our products aren't called Mach Three unless we know it's capable of propelling whatever vehicle it's on to that speed. Or beyond."

"What about the 'Supersonic Shitchopants' package?" Bane asked.

"Got that one on the Soobs as well as the 'M3P' stuff. That shit's gonna be flyin' down there."

"Are the bikes gonna be able to catch up?" Nate asked.

"Yes. I have no doubts whatsoever."

======================================

At the Inne...

(Last Night On Earth by Green Day plays in background, starting from 1:04)

"This book is just fascinating, Exile. I'm almost halfway through it." Beakwood said to the blue and white husky.

"Ah, yes, War & Peace. Twelve thousand and twenty five pages of historical events, seen through the eyes of five russian families. I have kept it with me longer than i can remember."

"I can tell it is very old. And yet still in prime condition."

"I keep it in a book-box i made myself."

"Interesting."

Beakwood continued reading the giant book from cover to cover, while Blitz and Tedium arm-wrestled on the solid steel table in the far end of the establishment. Blitz was dripping with sweat, while the bear broke not a single bead.

"You're pretty strong, there. You should do okay in hell."

"Of course, i will be biting many demon tooshies when we arrive."

"Tooshies? You're gonna get yours handed to ya right about... NOW!" Tedium said as he sent the Doberman into the wall. "Looks like you ain't that tough after all, heheh." he said as he started to walk away from the table.

Blitz wasn't gonna have any of that. "I WANT A REMATCH!!!" he roared.

"Seriously? A Canosapien mutt against an Athelian warrior? How dumb do you think i am?"

Blitz tried to charge at the bear when Exile froze his path to ice, making him slide and slam into the Athelian Knight. Tedium picked him off the floor.

"No, really, Blitz. I'm done." he said before letting go of the doberman, letting him fall on his back.

Hunter rushed over to his fellow Rover. "I got a feeling that you two don't play well with each other."

"Everyone think's i'm useless."

"Not everyone, Blitz. Remember what Professor Sheppard said: Inside every dog is a Road Rover."

"But he's a bear."

Everyone was chilling out, as per Lycaon's suggestion, keeping their plans in mind. Greyfus showed Kraig his weapon, which looked like the handle of a sword without a blade.

"Watch closely, Kraig. Do you see that bottle over there on that table?" the wolf said.

"Yes."

Greyfus activated his whip, and grabbed the bottle with it, pulling it back towards him, catching it in his hand. Kraig applauded.

"Very well done, Greyfus. My Dannie would be so jealous."

"Who?" the wolf asked in curiousity.

"My recently deceased mate, Dan Dinago. He used to carry his whip with him all the time."

"Is it similar to mine?"

"Something close." Kraig said as he held Dan's whip in his hand to show the Athelian knight. "Not a fancy one, it was mostly for looks."

"Can you wield it?"

"I don't have much experience with using it, aside from Dan teaching me once or twice. But there's no harm in trying."

The fox positioned himself as Dan would have when he was using it, then, seeing the dingo do it in his mind, he waved it back, then threw it foward, and...

[CRACK!!]

"YIEE!"

Kraig had whipped Blitz right on the seat of his pants, sending him skyward before crashing through a couple of tables.

"You wield it like an ameteur, but that was a good shot." Greyfus commented as Blitz whined and cried.

Kraig promptly went over to apologize to the Rover.

"What was that for?" the doberman groaned in pain.

"I'm sorry, i did it with my eyes closed, i wasn't even aiming for you. Oh, i am such a bad aim."

"I wouldn't say that." Blitz said. "You could say you ripped me a new fart-hole."

"Well, let's just get that fixed up for now."

============================

Later...

"I got to hand it to you, you can tailor a suit to perfection. I like it." Blitz said as they stood in the room again. Kraig had a set of clothes that he tailored to fit the doberman's frame.

"And i can tell there is spandex in this shirt, that's why it fits my hunky form so perfectly. And i can say the same for the pants. Oh-ho-hoho..." Blitz continued.

"I'm gonna go find Lycaon and see what he's doing, so go ahead, let it sink in." Kraig said to the doberman.

=====================================

Outside...

"Oh, he's gotta be around here somewhere..." Kraig said as he drove Blitz's Porsche to Ryan's house. Blitz handed the fox the keys as an act of selfless friendship. Kraig thought it was sweet, but most likely the doberman was hitting on him.

He put the roof up, and locked the car before going inside the house.

"Lycaon, are you in here?" Kraig called. No answer, aside from a faint whisper in his mind.

He got back into the dark green convertible and drove over to Mike's place.

"Lycaon? Are you here?"

"In where?" the wolf-god asked. He was levitating over the house. Kraig was wide-eyed.

"I was just comin' over to check on you."

"Why?"

"Just 'cause i wanted to."

"You are concerned about how long we're taking to prepare for the mission, are you not?"

"Well, kinda. What're you doing up there?"

"Meditating, strengthening my mind, body, and energy. Synergizing my powers."

"Okay."

"Do you wish to meditate with me?" Lycaon asked.

"If we can do it on the floor in the house, then yes."

Lycaon smiled as he glided down to ground level. Taking Kraig by the hand, they went inside, where he asked the fox for his whistle. Kraig handed it to him, and he turned it into a piccolo, a type of wind instrument that produces very high pitches.

"Do you know how to play this?"

"A plus in music all the way from the enth grade." Kraig replied, and started playing. As he played, he noticed something weird coming from the end of the instrument, and stopped for a moment.

"Something wrong?"

"Watch." Kraig said, and started playing until the object came out again.

"Fear not, you are just getting to harness your true powers within."

"That means what, exactly?"

"I'll show you." With that, he took the piccolo from Kraig and played the intro to Linkin Park's 'No More Sorrow'. No sooner than he played the first few notes, a bluish-purple smoke enveloped the end, and solidified into a soft rubber ball.

"Is that all it can do? Make blue balls?"

"It can do more than just that. You just have to play something that would evoke a certain emotion."

"So, that means, if i think of, let's say, flowers, i can fly? Or bring something to life?"

"Close. The first one, anyway. I'll train you in the usage of the instrument as a weapon, but we'll need to start with something easy. Come, let's take this outside, so as not to break anything."

Kraig focused all his attention to the wolf who was teaching him the art of the magic that music contains as they went outside.

"Okay, play through the chromatic scale, and imagine something, anything."

Kraig played through as expected, and told Lycaon that he tasted the notes, describing the relation of the notes to colors and to flavors.

"Good. Now, try to play your favorite song on it."

Kraig started to play the lyrics to REO Speedwagon's 'After Tonight' on the piccolo. As he played, something happened: Time shifted to night, the sky darkened, the moon was full, shining brightly on the two as they were surrounded by thick and wispy smoke, and two forms were outlined in grayscale in the smoke. It was Kraig and Dan, slowly dancing to the music.

Lycaon teared up; it was the most beautiful thing he had seen his whole life.

Near the end of the song, the smoke depicted Dan sinking into the ground, with the fox desperately trying to save the frightened dingo. It was of no use, as Dan sunk out of the picture, followed by the fox falling to his knees with his head in his hands, as the smoke faded away, and everything return to normal.

"Absolutely dramatic beyond anything i have ever seen."

"T-thanks. I just started thinking about Dan, and then..." Kraig replied, starting to cry. Lycaon held the fox close.

"And so ends lesson one. Now, see if you can play a happier tune." the wolf said as Kraig wiped his eyes. Taking the instrument from Lycaon, he tried to play 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua, but stopped after 'in a barbie world' to think of something else to play.

Kraig started playing Lenny Kravitz's 'Fly Away" using a rather odd technique for the intro to mimic power chords.

After the song ended, the fox felt a sense of relief; a sign that his powers were almost fully active.

"Okay, that was good. Continue."

Now the fox shifted gears, and started playing 'The Requiem' by Linkin Park, in a major chord.

After the song ended, Lycaon congratulated him for honing his abilities.

"That was all i had to do?" Kraig asked.

"There is more, but for now, we're just getting warmed up with the basics."

"So, it's more powerful if i play something more difficult?"

"Yes. The harder the song, the stronger your magic is."

"Hmm, i guess that means i'll have to train a lot more, though i do bet it would be pretty hard to play a speed metal riff on a piccolo."

"For some, it would be. Only the most talented would be able to do so."

"I'm determined to make that happen... For Dan!"

'I love when that happens, when people are motivated to do things they would normally procrastinate from...' Lycaon thought as Kraig drove off.

======================================================

At the Inne...

Kraig drove up and went into the bar, as everyone was making a team effort of preparing everything they needed. Over by the stage, Dee had the projector set up, connected to his outdated laptop, an old Toshiba Satellite. In the back where the arm-wrestling tables were, now there was gym equipment.

"What have we here? Who did this?" the fox asked.

"This was all per Lycaon's instruction; Training there, planning here on the stage, weapons and armor down the middle." Dee told him.

"Incredible..." Kraig responded.

"Yes, it is."

==============================================

In the motel...

Blitz had taken off the skin-tight shirt and tied it around his waist, and was admiring himself in the mirror for a long time, taking a few steps back, tried a few combat poses, before someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Not now, Kraig, I am too busy looking at the hunky dog in the mirror."

"Oh, Blitz..." A voice spoke in his ear.

The doberman froze, spun around, and saw Coleen in front of him, in her usual casualwear, a dark green tank top, and grey sweatpants. He crossed his arms and pinned her with a serious stare.

"Oh, it's you, the one who likes to pretend i'm invisible. What do you want?" Blitz said.

"Well, I've come to.. apologize. For everything. Callin' you names, rejecting your advances. All of it." She said. "And, I'd like to give you a big hug, to break the wall between us."

"I'm not gonna like this, but fine." Blitz said before the collie came up and gave him a tight hug that he forced himself to return. "All your apologies are accepted, Coleen."

"Oh, and Blitz?"

"Ya?"

"There's something i wanna show you. It's outside, c'mon!"

Coleen took Blitz by the hand and led him outside with his eyes shut.

"Okaay, open'em." she said.

the doberman lifted his lids, and what he saw, made his jaw drop to the ground: a Thrust SSC, the fastest british-produced rocket car ever built. But this version was downsized quite a bit, about the length of a semi trailer, the front a bit shorter and wider, the jet turbines shrunk down by half, with long fins on top that swooped back, the Road Rovers emblem emblazoned on the sides.

"Y-yyaahh g-got one of... those?" Blitz stammered.

"All the bells an' whistles."

Blitz instantly fainted, as Coleen held him up, and carried him to the bar.

=================================================================

Everyone was outside now for sparring practice, as Coleen sat the now-consious doberman on a bench near the training area.

"Oh, hey, Coleen, you're back. Blitz give you any trouble again?" Hunter said as he saw her inside the bar.

"I'm just dandy, Hunter. Blitzie 'ere saw my new ride and blanked out."

"Ooh, this we gotta see." Muzzle said as he came in for a drink.

===================================================================

At WolfWerx...

"This has got to be the finest car we have ever built to date. Five thousand horses on the petrol side, and, uh, how much power did the jet rockets have, exactly?" Zeke said, admiring the rocket-powered Subaru. No longer was it a Leone sedan; it was now a one of a kind vehicle that was part tuner, part rocket car, and all speed.

"Our equipment can only read up to a hundred thousand on the HP, and these things went right past it." Nate said.

"Well, that should be good enough, right?" Bane said. "I mean, this car's built like a spaceship, but better!"

"Power ratings aside, how'd the bikes do?" Zeke asked.

"Uh- " Nate started, "They went past the radar too; I don't know, they might have less power than the car,"

The pack looked at the fully-loaded bikes; They had thirty-six out of the hundred they were originally planning to build.

"And what's the stats on their transport?" Hug asked, regarding how they were going to take all thirty-six bikes, and the car, into Hell.

They went into their meeting room to discuss that little flaw in their plans.

---

"Okay, so- Wait, now. I think we should get the tags of all those who are going." Zeke said.

"Tags? Oh, names."

"Yeah. Do another count, get names together, and see how much stuff we gotta bring."

"I troll this thread because i want back the five minutes of my life that you just wasted." Bane said, using a so-called 'Internet Language'.

"Shut up, Bane, and let's go!" Zeke said.

=========================================

At the bar...

The crew pulled up in their twice-rebuilt van, and got out to see Coleen's red and white Thrust SSC.

"Holy shit, who owns this beauty?" Nate said.

"That'd be me, Gov." The collie said from behind. "Name's Coleen."

"How did you get this?"

"Oh, not much, I just pulled a few strings, and voila."

The crew started to grow uncomfortable, as their pants gained a few inches of bulge up front.

"Uh, this ride of yours is just so awesome, we can't be near it any longer, so if you'll kindly exscuse us..." Zeke said as he pushed the others toward the bar's entrance.

"Huh... Odd." Coleen said.

---

"Go!" came Lycaon's call, signaling the start of the endurance test: A quarter-mile dash, followed by a five-hundred meter agility course, composed of many obstacles, both stationary and moving, as well as a twenty foot tall cliff to climb, with a ledge halfway up that stuck out a mere two feet out from the rock face. Along with those obstacles, were pillars and rope-vines they were to climb up, a staggering seventy feet with no safety gear to replicate the conditions they were going to be in, to the top of the pillars, and jump from one to the next. Lycaon had implemented a safety net from his magic, an elastic barrier that, upon landing on it, would safely bring them back down to the ground to try again, with more caution the next try.

"We're not all dogs, you know." Dee said, standing beside the wolf, who then glared at him. "Fine. But only because i gotta go down there too."

"If you don't train with the others, you'll end up worse than dead at the claws of the monstrousities that lurk there." Lycaon told the camel.

"Can i use my other form?"

"Go ahead, if that form is stronger, then use it."

Dee then went into his alternate form, a mountain goat crossed with a bighorned mountain sheep, standing at six and a half feet tall. He had both species' horns combined, the goat variant splitting off the ram horns at the base. His muscles were toned like a football quarterback, his head took the shape of the ram's.

The transformation from camel to ram-goat hybrid took fifteen seconds, after which Dee got into the course.

"You shall all complete the course ten, i repeat, ten times." Lycaon stated.

"Ten? I could do this all day!" Hunter said, dangling from the ropes.

"So could I." Tedium said as he paused on his rope next to the Rover.

"AWW, you've got to be kidding me!" Blitz said from the cliff portion of the course, clinging onto the wall as he sidestepped across.

"You are not to complain; It shows your weakness! You must face your fears or you will perish!" Lycaon said as Kraig came up next to him with an ice chest on his back- a BIG ice chest, full of assorted drinks for everyone.

"Kraig, why do you torture yourself with such a burden on your back?"

"I was seein' how strong i am."

"Well, as impressed as i am, please, don't do that. You could really hurt yourself."

"Oh, sorry." Kraig said before looking at the course. "Wow, it's like an adult-sized jungle gym! Could i have a turn on it?" he asked.

"If you feel you're up to it. You must go through the course ten times. And be careful, think hard about your next move before you make it."

"Like chess?"

"Yeah, like that. Okay, go."

The white fox dashed off toward the course, just as Coleen walked past the wolf-god.

"Uh, Coleen--" he started.

"Ten laps on the course, got it!"

'Damn, she's good.' Lycaon thought to himself.

"Everyone, after you finish your first lap, take five and line up."

They finished as instructed, and lined up in front of the wolf.

"There are refreshments in that icebox, Rokar is preparing a high-protein energy supplement, in bar form."

"Could I correct you, Sir?" Hunter asked.

"Granted."

"They're called 'Energy Bars."

"Energy bars, okay. Anyways, you may have only one of each, then back on the course for nine more times in my absence, as Rokar needs one-on-one training."

"One? Don't need'em, I got plenty of energy to spare." Tedium said in his usually cocky tone.

"Das coz you're a bear, Tedium!" Blitz said after he got off the course the easy way: Pulling a suicide jump from the cliff, thinking the invisible net would cach him. Big mistake, as he crashed on his back. Luckily, Rovers don't go down that easy.

"CAN IT, BLUNTS!"

"IT'S BLITZ!!" the doberman shouted back before Coleen and Greyfus got ready to restrain the two.

---

"Hello, where is everyone?" Zeke asked as they looked around inside the bar.

"Be there in a minute, guys. I'm just making some snacks for the others, they're over by the Recreational area in the back near the woods." Rokar said from inside the kitchen.

"I think i know where they are already, I'm picking up Lycaon's MindLink." Bane told the others. "We'll be outside, Rokar."

"Hey, Lycaon." Zeke said, the crew bowing in front of the wolf-god.

"Hello, Ezekiel, and crew. What brings you here?"

"Well, we just came over because we've built some serious speed machines for Dee's search and rescue mission.."

"Thank you." Dee said as Zeke said his name.

"..but we need to know how many are going, so that we bring enough for them, plus the 'rescue-ees'."

Everyone was on their fourth lap around when Lycaon called them back to line up.

"What now? I was just getting the hang'a that hang-bar on the third tree there." the Animaloid bear said.

"We just need a tail cout to see who's going, so we know how many more bikes we gotta build." Zeke said.

"Oh, there's no need to build me a bike; I already have a ride." Coleen said.

"Yeah.... We know about that." Zeke replied, looking away from her as the sweat bead appeared.

Kitan handed out a clipboard to Lycaon, who wrote his name on the paper before passing it down the line.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HellRunner Volunteers

Lycaon Kraig Dee Horscht Dashuk Hunter Exile Blitz Muzzle Greyfus Beakwood Tedium

---

(Big rig horn blares)

"HOLD ON! WAIT FOR ME!" the trucker said as he came scrambling out of his truck, pulling his jacket on, towards the group.

"Woah! Just who the hell are you, just comin' up like that?" Tedium asked.

The trucker was bent over, hands on knees, out of breath. He inhaled deeply, coughing a few times before straightening up.

"Rick!" Kraig identified the trucker, approaching the road-weary springer spaniel.

Rick looked at the white fox. "I swear i saw your little tail somewhere before."

"It's me, Kraig Naikomak. Dan Dinago's mate?"

"Kraig! I've been gone too long. Where is that wacky dingo of yours?"

Kraig's expression turned bleak; His tail slowly drooping to the ground.

"What happened to him?"

"You don't want to know the answer." the fox said, turning his head away.

Rick turned toward Lycaon, pointing at him. "You. What do you know about this? What happened to Dan?"

"He and Ryan, they were involved in a horrible incident. As Kraig stated, the details are very graphic, you would not want to know."

"Translation: The truth'll make you blow your brains out." Dee said.

"So, what're we doing here?" Rick asked.

"Trans-" Dee said before getting knocked on his butt by the burly dog. "Ow, fuck!!"

"Should you know anything about what is going on, you will face consequenses for seeking out what you--" Lycaon said before Rick grabbed him by the neck of his robe and held him in the air.

"Seriously! I don't care if you're God or Satan, Dan's been like a brother to me. I MUST know what you're up to, because i want in!"