Aro chuckled at his old friend's discomfort. "I think I'll take to the field. Guard our mates well," he smirked, leaving Renata behind to help Caius, seeing as she couldn't help much in this fight.
Caius snorted but said nothing as most of the remaining gifted left with him.
After eliminating all opposition, Aro was one of the oldest, if not the oldest vampire. Thanks to his gift of knowing anything and everything from a simple touch. Mastering nearly everything there is due to the years of experience gained/consumed from numerous sources; there was none better.
However, there were also none in his memory banks of anyone remotely close to being able to call themselves a giant dog-fighting expert. Though he thought there really was no need with their limited move set and speed, he could easily dispatch them.
Lions and tigers were similar enough, and arguably far more dangerous with their maneuverable claws, even werewolves, if not for their lack of intelligence and the once-in-a-moon threat they posed compared to their shifter counterparts.
His first foe, a grey-brown wolf, and his timber-colored partner appeared before him.
Aro moved like no other as he slipped easily by their deadly jaws, striking the two wolves numerous times before they knew what hit them, looking like a martial arts master right out of the movies as he delivered a final backward spin uppercut kick, sending the timber wolf flying.
Felix protectively followed closely behind in his wake as other vampires disposed of the two downed wolves.
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(I'm back,) said Dean, sprinting into the thick of it, instantly ending a group of vamps.
(Dean! Over here! Finish this bastard for us. He keeps getting back up,) said Seth, grunting as said vamp struck him in the side. Brady and Colin came from behind and tore him apart once more before turning to fight others.
Dean didn't waste any time, rushing over to end the threat. Finding the arms already moving back to the body, he quickly found the head and swallowed it, shocking the nearby vamps, who promptly followed in his demise.
(Thanks,) said Seth, feeling like a load was taken off him.
(No problem. I want you all to gather up and start running in a V formation; that way, clear a path for Sam to slip away. You listening Sam?" asked Dean.
(I am,) answered Sam.
(You see those female vamps standing in the back? I want you and Jared to take them out. Those are likely their mates. Show them no place is safe on a battlefield,) said Dean.
(Count on it,) said Sam, eager to strike a significant blow to the enemy's forces.
(The two wolves with you can link up with Seth when they arrive and then work together to wipe out as many as you can,) said Dean.
(No problem,) said Seth, taking point.
(Paul, where are you?) asked Dean.
(Fighting... an... annoying fucking bastard,) growled Paul, ducking a swinging arm with a spike and retreating when the porcupine vamp threw its back at him.
(Anyone with you?) asked Dean.
(One newbie, he's holding up alright,) said Paul, glancing back at the new wolf biting off the hand of an aggressive vamp.
(Leah, take your group and meet up with them. No more small groups, everyone should stick together to fight off any gifted that might pop up,) said Dean.
Looking towards the center, he spots Quil and Embry still trying to get revenge despite being surrounded and somehow holding on.
(Embry, Quil, fall back! You're too far out!) yelled Dean, and upon spotting Aro heading their way, he ran for them.
.
Quil winces at Dean's shout as Embry makes his move. Pouncing past an attacking vamp, he aims straight for Santiago, who grins menacingly as he punches out, connecting with his nose with a sickening crunch, breaking the upper jaw and pushing the wolf's head down, causing Embry to flip over the vamp as his momentum carried him on.
Scrambling back to his feet, Embry rushes back at him, ducking by a couple of vamps as Quil calls out for him to stop being reckless, but this was his chance to avenge Jake, and nothing would stop him now. Growing ever more eager to wipe that grin from the evil vamp's face as he closed the gap.
Seeing the gifted vamp that killed Jake turning to face Embry, Quil took his chance. Ignoring the vamps jumping at him and tearing into his flesh, he went for it, wanting to help his friend achieve their revenge.
Lifting his arm for another strike at the incoming wolf, Santiago was surprised when the other came from behind, latching onto his upraised arm, preventing him from acting as the other came in and went for his head.
Sticking his other arm out defensively, Embry tears through it, just missing the head as Quil struggles to take the other with multiple vamps now ripping him apart, forcing him to let go when the pain became unbearable.
This snapped Embry out of his rage as Quil went down in a bloody mess.
(Quil!) cried Embry, rushing to his friend's side, tackling the vamps aiming for the head.
Santiago took this time to retreat, falling to one knee as Aro approached, "My lord."
"Hm, seems you're struggling," Aro commented, looking at Embry fighting to save his friend.
Santiago lowered his head, hiding his scowl. "I was careless. It won't happen again." Silently promising himself never to trust any other vampire that wasn't gifted and in the elite guard with his back again.
"See that it doesn't... Go help Diego. I'll clean this up," said Aro, catching sight of the porcupine vampire in the distance being surrounded by wolves.
Santiago got up and prepared to leave as Aro locked eyes with Embry, standing defensively over Quil.
Suddenly, the wolf's eyes dilated as it spotted Jake's killer next to the one responsible for everything, the one that everything led back to, the one that gave the order, the vampire king, and he charged.
"Oh, looks like this one has a grudge," said Aro, unperturbed by the snarling mad wolf's charge. Sidestepping his foolish leap, he watched amusedly as the wolf fell right into the arms of Felix. His champion's impressive strength on full display as he caught the rabid thing's head and squeezed it into mush between his two massive hands.
(EMBRY!) cried Quil from the ground. Pushing back to his feet, nearly healed, and went after the big vamp with a vengeance.
.
Moments later, Dean arrives in a golden blur, straight for Aro. For better or worse, he'd let Quil have his fight; it was more important to end this.
Dean's jaw snaps dangerously close as Aro stays just out of range, dancing around his every strike, seemingly more interested in what the golden wolf had to offer than fighting back, for he was certainly stronger and faster than the others, but not impressively so by any stretch, at least not in his eyes, eyes that have seen much in his long life.
If one were to ask if hubris was getting the best of him, he would deny it and say, 'How could it be hubris when I'm the combination of many? If there were a god, it would be me.'
A kick from Aro spins Dean around, who uses his back leg claws for a surprise strike, cutting Aro's cheek, who wipes the venom with a grin, enjoying the momentary challenge of it all.
With a combative hiss, he engages the wolf again, striking the wolf multiple times while dodging its deadly jaws. Finding the blows had little impact on his adversary, he retreats several steps back, taking a different approach as he pulls off his gloves.
When next they meet, Dean finds Aro all the deadlier, wielding his hands like blades thanks to his sheer speed and precision. Slicing and piercing the wolf, but once again, Aro finds it futile as the regenerative ability of the golden beast far surpasses what he thought possible.
Then came his chance with Dean overextending on a failed bite attempt. Aro planned to end it with a severing chop to the back of his neck.
While preparing to deliver the fatal blow, Aro experiences an unexpected moment of surprise when Dean shifts into a human to dodge and counters with a left hook. Narrowly avoiding this strike, Aro is caught off guard by a powerful spinning kick that he cannot evade due to his compromised balance. In an effort to absorb the blow, he throws himself backward, yet the impact generates a resounding boom, a testament to the sheer force of the kick. As he is sent flying, he feels the ominous spiderweb cracks forming beneath his cloak, accompanied by the unsettling thought that a direct hit would have resulted in him being cleaved in half.
.
Quil traded a few blows with the big vamp before he was caught and had his neck snapped as Felix rushed to aid his master against the golden wolf.
Sensing an attack from behind, Dean catches the big vamp's arm, flipping him over and grabbing his neck with his right hand, pinning him to the ground. Quickly realizing he could not tear off such a durable foe's head with his bare hands, Dean shifted again, his hand turning into a claw, keeping the vamp contained as his wolf's maw appeared before it and bit its head off.
.
Landing a distance away on his feet, Aro clutches his cracked chest, feeling pain for the first time in ages, and is surprised once more when he sees Felix go down to the man, who shifts back into the golden wolf to swallow his champion's head.
And for the first time since his humanity, a look of shock appeared on his face. The notion that a creature existed capable of devouring them was unimaginable, and an unfamiliar sensation, long absent from his life, began to infiltrate his being—fear.
He realized that this must be the very emotion his victims experienced when he pursued them; that instinctive, primal fear that arises when prey encounters its predator.
They were winning this fight despite their vast losses compared to their opponents, for every downed vamp would eventually come back, their body parts magnetically attracted to one another, ensuring they would reform and rise again. Sure, only a few of them would get back up in time to rejoin the fight before it was over, but they would all get back up eventually. So, in essence, they haven't actually lost anyone... Until now, he didn't think they had a way to kill them, but if they could be eaten, that changed everything.
Though Aro doubted whether any of the other wolves were capable of similar, the gold one being the odd one out compared to his lesser companions. However, this didn't lessen their threat in the slightest. These wolves had to be wiped out; their existence could not be allowed to continue.