"I hate to use this now, but I can't die. Not here, not now!" 

"Oh ho, just when I thought I'd seen it all, who knew YOU were here" Tournament chuckled to themself.

"Eh? Just what the heck are you planning?" 

Tournament took a few steps back before removing their mask and mouthing the words, "Solid my dear, don't die."

"I desired to see you just one more my time brother…but this is not an enemy I can be conservative against. I HAVE to do this." Nox snarled as his fur began to glow a bright blue like his eyes.

"MOOONSTRUUUM!"

They pointed Nox's way then mumbled something to themself causing his fur to change back to its original white as he slowly fell to the ground. Solid's entire body came out of shock as he charged towards the wolf. He began to cock his arm back ready to deliver the fatal blow, but stopped and turned around as he heard Solis yelling in anger.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE! DON'T! DON'T! DON'T!" Solis yelled.

"Why don't you stop me then? I mean, you haven't even taken one step! You're a coward. Letting your friend fight battles for you. Hell, even now with your little buddy bleeding out you still stand there. You're worthless. You're weak. You don't deserve friends if you can't even fight to protect them.

This was the one true weakness of Solis. The reason why Nox fought so hard. His indecisiveness was an issue for him ever since he was a young boy. Even when it came to the most minuscule of task, Solis always struggled. This same indecisiveness was what ultimately caused his father to be killed when Solis was a teenager. His father, Luna, was a member of the Spesian army, but never got any rank higher than a lowly foot-soldier. Solis on the other hand, because of his abnormal strength, became a general at the age of sixteen. In a skirmish against some bandits, his father had been captured and held ransom for twenty-four hours. The bandits wanted refuge in Spes, but the citizens didn't want them to be allowed in. This troubled Solis all day and night and when decision time came he was nowhere to be found. The then-acting-leader of Spes would decide for him and deny the bandits entry, resulting in his father's death. Solis went into a severe depressive state leaving scars on his body. Scars that cut deeper than a sword. He cursed the goddess and eventually left Spes and Heros behind.

"If only Dad was here, he'd know what to do." 

"Pick your head up my child, you're not alone. I too was like you at one point, always afraid of what would happen if I messed up. I don't like anger because it can cause one to do horrible things to those we love. But I learned anger is not the true enemy, it's yourself. Let your anger show my dear, let it rip away that which holds you back and save my beautiful child." A voice whispered to Solis.

"Dad? Is that you?" 

"BWAHAHA, now the idiot's hearing things. BWAHAHA! Daddy's not coming to save you or your friend!" 

Solis started to pull at his hair as he huffed and puffed, his anger growing even more intense as tears continued to roll down his face. He thought about running again until he looked at Nox. His friend had blood gushing out of his mouth as his eyes began to roll back.

"nuff's a nuff." Solis exclaimed as he slammed his fist into the ground and charged at Solid but then the man did something unexpected. He threw the axe to the side, picked up Nox, and then bit into his neck, taking a chunk of the wolf's flesh out and swallowing it. Nox went limp and was thrown to the ground.

"BWAHAHA! You waited too long. Did you really think I was gonna give you the chance to save that puppy and fight me two versus one!" 

"..."

Solid started walking towards him when suddenly Solis' body began to shake.

"What the hell is going on? My body's killing me!" Solis screamed as he fell back to the ground.

His fingernails started to grow longer and became sharp as ever. The hair on his body grew everywhere and became jet-black. The structure of his head morphed into that of a mixture between a man and a wolf. There Solis stood, no longer a man but a werewolf, as he let out a great, ferocious howl! His vision momentarily went blurry as he heard the words whispered to him:

Wheel of Breath: Anger- "Moon Meets the Mountain"

Solis, in a fit of unhinged anger charged at Solid. He tried dodging him, but Solis was too fast, faster than even Nox! His claws dug deep into him. He scratched and clawed away at him, then bit into his neck ripping a large chunk out akin to the actions just taken. Solid, barely alive, tried begging for mercy, but Solis cocked his arm back, then struck his hand into his stomach and crushed it. He repeatedly punched the man in his body destroying every organ in his torso. It was a bloody mess as the man lay in two pieces. His eyes were completely white with pools of blood seeping out as he reached toward Solis.

"You're still alive? Fine!

Before he could deliver the finishing blow, a hand grabbed his arm. It was Tournament's hand They shook their head no, then stabbed the bald man with a blade. Solis was shocked as tears rolled down his fur. He got up and ran towards Nox, who was lying on the ground, gasping for air. He picked him up and held his best friend in his arms as he cursed the heavens for their cruelty. Tournament approached them both casually and offered their condolences.

"Why?" 

"Hm? Why didn't I stop him?" 

"No. Why do you think you're getting out of here alive? 

"Pahaha, well that's simple. I can save your furry friend's life." 

What do you mean you can save him?! Why would you!""

"Well, it was my client who tried to kill your friend and he didn't even finish the job. Your friend, what was his name? Nox? He seems like a prideful beast. Being forced to bleed out instead of instant death in combat is so dishonorable. Alas, I do have one request if you would, please look away. I'm shy." 

"You're right 'bout one thang. Nox is prideful, but he's ain't no beast. He's my brother, so if you even think you'll kill him without dying yourself, you're wrong." 

"As the Goddess Eirini is my witness, I will not harm your frie- I mean brother." Tournament said as they bowed. "So, please if you could."

Solis hesitated for a minute before agreeing and turning around.

"Oh, by the way, when you change back, you may want to cover yourself. I don't know if it'll happen, but I've heard in stories that when someone becomes a beast, especially a werewolf, they're usually naked when they turn back. Again, you're a handsome man but this probably isn't the best time for those for kind of actions." 

After a few minutes, Solis transformed back into a human, and like they had said he was indeed naked. He grabbed the shirt off of Solid and used it to cover up his genitalia. He turned around and to his surprise Tournament was no longer around, but neither was Nox.

"That bastard! I knew I shouldn't trust him." Solis said as he clenched his teeth.

Solis looked up and seen Nox atop a large rock. He looked much stronger than before as he charged towards Solis and the two embraced in a hug.

"I'm sorry…was my fault yuh got hurt. I promised...to protect yuh. To have yuh back...and I failed. You've been there for me...so many times and I..." 

"Raise your head you fool. It was I who also promised to protect you and failed. I was too careless. I thought I could take care of him on my own and I let my anger get the best of me. It was not only your fault. We both must better ourselves for the coming fights." Nox said as he scratched at his neck. "Our visitor left me a surprise. One that I reckon can only be removed by that mysterious fellow."

The same collar that was in the box from Tournament now appeared wrapped his neck. He attempted to rip it off, but as he did it shocked them both. Nox fell to the ground as he howled in pain. Solis began searching around for any sign of Tournament, but only found the letter. He read through it again and knew what he needed to do.

The next morning Solis and Nox woke up and began to head out, both sensing each other's rage. They took the long route to Perdita, which meant going around Spes. Had they gone through, Solis knew it would be a fuss to do so without conflict. Spes was roughly a three-day walk to Fortuna, for the normal individual, but for these two, they made it in two days.

"Just yuh wait, yuh piece of shit, you'll pay for what you've done." 

Upon arrival, they made their way straight to Fortuna. Seeing Nox, nobody said a word to the two, but the tension could be felt miles away.

"A Spesian in Perdita? Oh, this should be interesting right Solid?" Said a young boy as he jumped for joy.

"BWAHAHA it'll be grand Aster! I can't wait to get my hands on those puppies again." 

"Pahaha, remember to play nice with the 'puppies' my dear, we can't have them dying just yet now can we? Especially you, Nox"

The three of them laughed as a thunderous bang rang through the walls of The Council's House. Solis and Nox knocked down the door and yelled out to Tournament. At first, nobody answered until a large man in a suit walked down the stairs. He said nothing. Solis was about to say something, but before he could both were knocked unconscious.

"Lowly mutt. Don't ever raise your voice to that which is higher than you. Get them out of my sight this instant."

"So that's how you ended up here. I'm sorry about you and your brother. Where is he anyways?" 

"Parently not an easy process to remove that dang collar. That worker said they'd have it removed though and I made sure to 'mind em what would happen if he did anythang extra. 'Sides I'm wonderin' who that lil lady was. I didn't even hear her."

"You would think since you can turn into a wolf that you would've gained some better senses even when not being in that form." 

"Funny nuff I kinda did. That or I was just really hungry. Either way, I swear I smelled honey." 

"That's interesting because those seven were in a flower garden. Maybe it was one of them. Or maybe the chef knocked him out and he's not really as strong as he would appear to be. Whatever it is just keep watching your back."

"Well, I won't have to worry for long 'cause once that collar's off we're out of here." 

"I don't think you should do that." 

"Eh? Why so?" 

"You're the only person I have to talk to." 

"Very funny, but what's your real reason? You don't seem like the try-to-make-friends type, so what are you really getting at?" 

"Alright, alright you got me, I just got a bad feeling is all. I mean think about don't the whole situation seem weird? A random wolf appears in a forest it's not native to. Then Tournament and a random dude pull up. It just feels like if that psychopath went through all that to bring you here, then there's no way they're letting you just walk out. So, unless you're prepared to fight a whole house of who knows how many people, I'd suggest thinking things through a bit more.

"Ugh, hate that you're right. Nox'd say the same thang. Maybe that's why I've taken a'likin' to yuh." Solis said, reaching out his hand.

Felichs reached out to dap him up but Solis stopped them.

"My friend had a sayin' once, 'hands that are shook together never stood together' so that's why we interlocked fingers, then snapped them. I don't mind bein' betrayed 'cause it's happened many times 'fore. Just give me the respect to stab in the chest 'n not the back."

The two dapped each other up, interlocked fingers, then snapped them. After, Felichs told Solis about their encounter with Tournament.

"WAHAHA, well at least yuh ain't have to no axe-wielding manic. Guess I got yuh beat there, eh?" 

"Yeah, I just had to fight a psychotic doctor without some cool power activating mid-fight to help me. So, I guess I got you beat there, eh? 

"Looks like you're hidin' more than just gender of yours. So, your mom's military too? Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah…uh about that. Sorry for what happened to your home. If it means anything I could care less about war."

"Nah, I don't hold anything against yuh or yuh mama. Heck, y'all ain't the reason these wars started. Also, Spes ain't this peaceful state that many Spesians make it out to be…there's a lot of dirt in their history."

Felichs looked at Solis who had walked over to the window. They could sense something was eating away at him but decided not to pry. Instead, they grabbed a towel and made their way to the bathroom.

"What the heck are all these knobs? Maybe if I turn this one right here?" 

The water came out real fast and hot, burning their hand. They turned it the other way and the ice cold water made their entire body shiver. A short spell of turning the knob back and forth went on until Solis walked in.

"WAHAHA! You're a quirky lil thang aren't yuh?"

Felichs was soaked and their face could no longer be seen as their hair covered it like a mask.

"You know…you're not the only dog here dude!"

"Aye, aye, aye 'lright I get it, lemme help yuh, yuh stray dog!"

Solis helped them dry the floor before showing them how to use the knobs and shower heads.

"Thanks. Ugh, maybe this pampered life isn't all it's cut out to be." 

Solis chuckled before exiting the room. Felichs sat on one of the seats in the shower as many thoughts raced through their mind.

Felichs' mind was made up. They knew they had to do whatever it took to win Tournouá Tou Menos. As they were exiting the shower, they heard what appeared to be a woman's voice, followed by a gunshot.