The Life of Valor (Grave x Kat)

The group began to make their way down the mine shaft, following the tracks deeper underground. Nothing seemed to be disturbed, but Scott could feel that there were eyes on them. However, Valor could not sense their presence, so perhaps that was imagination. They reached the bottom of the shaft, which was pure darkness.
"Hey, Scott, how about a light?" Nick asked.
However, before Scott could make his arm shine to produce light, several lamps suddenly flickered to life, bathing them in the glow that was produced by the fire.
"Wow, that was creepy," Julie said.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone clapping his hands and footsteps. Within moments, a man with short white hair wearing a black suit appeared. He looked like a banker or the CEO of a company, certainly not the kind of person you would expect to find in a place like this.
"Welcome, welcome," the man said with a trace of a Russian accent, "I did not expect you to find me here so soon."
"Who are you?" Scott asked, suspicion in his voice.
"My name is Sergio Gregori, but I think you know me better as Blood Wolf."

Scott clenched his fist.
"So you're the infamous Blood Wolf. You must be pretty confident to confront us in your human form."
Suddenly, several pairs of red eyes began to glow behind Gregori.
"Well, I do have you outnumbered."
He turned his attention to Jessica, fixing her with a predatory gaze.

"You look familiar somehow. Where have I seen that face before?"
He thought about it for a moment, and then snapped his fingers when it came to him.
"Ah, of course, you look just like the first woman I ever tried to infect with my power. Was she your mother, perhaps?"
"Bastard!" Scott spit at him, "You know damn well who she is!"

Gregori chuckled.
"Temper, temper, Scott. If you want me to dispense with the games, then I will. Yes, I know who she is, and that you are the pupil of Solaris. I've been expecting you two for a while, but did not expect you to bring friends. I suppose that I will have to entertain them."

Sergio snapped his fingers, and a door built into the ceiling began to be opened by two werewolves pulling on chains. When the door was all the way open, a red moon could be seen in the sky.
"Ah, the beautiful red moon that signals the time to hunt. This should be fun."
Before their eyes, Gregori began to transform into his beastly side, a truly gigantic werewolf easily more intimidating than what they had faced before. Standing at eight feet tall with bulging muscles and teeth like swords, he was truly a creature from a nightmare.

"Let's have some fun, Scott!" he cried in a guttural growl as he sprang toward him.
Blood Wolf grabbed him by the throat and jumped through the hole in the ceiling, intent on having a one-on-one showdown with him. The rest of the werewolves began charging at the Shadow Force, hungry for Blood. Richard grabbed Jessica and put her against a wall, where they would protect her. He covered himself in rock armor using the floor and began to fight with their enemies as they pressed in. The rest of the team also used their powers to repel their attackers, but since they were up against an entire army, they knew that this would be a long battle.

Jessica glared at the man before them in pure hate as he spoke of her mother. "Shut your mouth you filthy bastard..." She practically growled in anger, not wanting anyone so evil to even speak about her mother. Her eyes then widened and she cried out as the monster grabbed Scott and dragged him up out the ceiling. "SCOTT!" She cried out before she found herself being pushed against the wall. No, no, no. She wasn't gonna just sit here. She had to find Scott. She wasn't about to lose someone else she loved to this monster. She looked around desperately and found an old ladder that led up to the hole in the ceiling. It was within reach so she quickly began climbing up to follow Scott.

Scott felt the air change as they were suddenly thrust into the blizzard. The red moon shining over them gave the area a very creepy and post-apocalyptic feel. After landing, Blood Wolf tossed Scott as hard as he could. Scott rolled backwards a few times and then got to his feet in a fighting stance. He began charging his opponent, able to make out his shape in the blizzard. He jumped and performed a spinning back kick, one of the most powerful kicks in all of martial arts.

The blow connected solidly, knocking his opponent off-balance. He continued the assault with a vertical kick to the face, followed by a spinning kick to the stomach. His speed was hard to follow in the blizzard, and he landed many blows on his opponent with both his hands and his feet. Scott's last strike was a back-flip kick that struck under Blood Wolf's chin, knocking him onto his back. As his opponent laid there, he landed on his feet and assumed his stance, ready to continue the fight. Over the sounds of the howling wind, he could hear Blood Wolf laughing.

"Is that all?"
Blood Wolf jumped back to his feet as if he was completely unharmed. Scott had suspected that his super thick muscles would absorb much of his blows, and so was not surprised.
"Your martial arts are impressive, but they're hardly a match for me."
"That wasn't even half of what Solaris taught me."
Blood Wolf got into a stance of his own, his razor sharp claws at the ready.

"You are the best that the civilized world has to offer, and I am the best that the wild has to offer. Do you really think you're ready to contend with a beast?!"
Blood Wolf suddenly charged at him, his claws and teeth flashing. Scott did his best to dodge the attacks, and his armor was able to protect him from the claws and teeth. The ferocious attacks kept coming, and Scott was forced to use his senses to deflect the blows. He could hold his ground, but his opponent was definitely not to be taken lightly.

Yvette saw Jessica start climbing the ladder, knowing that she was determined to be by Scott's side.
"Jessica, wait! It's too dangerous!"
She saw a werewolf coming at her, and used her shadow powers to make her body insubstantial, so that it went right through her and was taken down by Rocky. She began heading for the ladder.
"I'm going with her, so you four keep these creatures from escaping!"

Yvette was hesitant to leave Julie behind in this battle, given that she was so young, but she knew that the others, especially Rocky, would do all that they could to protect her. The two women hurriedly climbed the ladder, while Nick launched energy blasts into the werewolves.
"This is just like a shooting gallery! I could do this all day!"
After Jessica had reached the top, Yvette joined her and they began looking for Scott. The savage growls of Blood Wolf were easy to track, and they were soon watching the two of them fight.

"This is as close as we should get to the fight. The only thing that we can do now is trust Scott to win this fight. He's never let us down before."
Though the cold should have been intense without their outerwear, their fixation on the fight made it so that Yvette barely noticed the cold. She crossed her arms and watched the fight closely, praying for Scott to win. Yvette knew that this had to be hard for Jessica to watch, and placed her right hand on her shoulder for support.

Jessica paid Yvette's warning no heed and continued to climb out of the cave. Her eyes wide in horror as she watched Scott fighting. She would hold back for now. But if Scott came to be in too much danger...

The fight continued, and though Blood Wolf put up a savage onslaught, Scott was still getting the better of him. With his well-honed sense of timing, he saw an opening in his opponent's defense and nailed him with a Fist of Valor, using it as an uppercut to knock him on his back. Stunned by the force of the blow, Blood Wolf was slow to get to his feet.
"So, there is more power in your fist than I thought. It's a good thing that I have a weapon of my own."
Scott was confused by what he meant by that, and his face showed it.

"I don't call myself Blood Wolf just because it sounds cool, you know. What separates me from other lycanthropes is my blood. I can turn the moon red at will to increase my power, and once my blood is within another, I have control of that person ability to transform. I simply have to will it and they will do so, and once they have become beasts, they follow my every command. When the Blood Moon is out, as well, I gain certain...powers."
With concentration, Blood Wolf was able to make his claws and fangs glow bright red.

"Now I'm even more dangerous than before!"
With great speed, Blood Wolf closed the distance and slashed at Scott with the claws on his right hand. Before he could react, the claws had cleaved through his armor, exposing his clothing. It seemed that the moon had worked with his lycanthropic blood to imbue his teeth and claws with power similar to the Blood Magic of the Grymwar. The weapons of his enemy were now truly dangerous, and Scott was forced on the defensive. He covered the gap in his armor and focused on evading and countering his opponent's strikes, although his counterattacks seemed to be having little effect now.

Back in the mine, the Shadow Force was ably defending itself but still under the threat of being overrun. Some of the werewolves had been defeated, and having been rendered unconscious, they returned to their human forms. However, there were many more to replace them, and the heroes were starting to feel fatigued.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!" Mike cried out, running out of juice with the sandstorm attack he was using.
"Just keep fighting!" Nick cried out, shielding Julie from an attack.
"We have to hold out until Scott defeats Blood Wolf!" Richard chimed in, charging in like a battering ram and knocking down several of the werewolves, trying to keep them from massing up against them.

Jessica watched in horror as the beast managed to cut right through Scott's armor and she clenched her fists, shaking in fear for the man she loved, or maybe the cold? Probably both.

Scott continued to be on the defensive against Blood Wolf, his counterattacks seeming to have little affect on his rabid foe. The claws made contact with his armor and shredded it in a couple places, but he was able to fix it. After dodging a few blows, he stood still and baited Blood Wolf into coming at him head on.
"You're dead!" Blood Wolf cried out as he sprang at him, teeth bared and claws extended.
Scott waited until he was at point blank range before launching his vicious counterattack.
"Million Punches of Valor!"

There was no escape for Blood Wolf as he was suddenly overwhelmed by a flurry of punches. Unable to move, he felt great pain as his armor-like muscles began to fail him. The last punch was landed right on his nose, and sent him tumbling backwards and bouncing like a rag doll. Blood Wolf spit up blood and wheezed, and then went unconscious. Scott approached Gregori as he began to turn back into a human and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging him through the snow. He stopped in front of Jessica and uncovered his head so that he could look at her face-to-face.
"We finally got justice for your mom."

Within the mine, the other werewolves suddenly stopped attacking after Blood Wolf was rendered unconscious. They collapsed to the ground and began to turn back into human form.
"Scott must have defeated him!" Nick exclaimed.
"Of course he did," Richard replied, "I knew we could count on him."
Yvette nodded at Scott, congratulating him on his win.
"It is good that we were able to take such a dangerous person off of the streets."

Jessica let out a breath of relief and hugged Scott tightly around the waist a moment. "I'm glad you're safe..." She murmured, she felt very cold to the touch and was shivering slightly. She looked over at Gregori and couldn't resist throwing in a good kick to his crotch for her own, small justice.

Scott smiled as Jessica hugged him around the waist.
"Your hugs are always the best, Jessica."
He chuckled as she gave the unconscious Gregori a kick in the balls, thinking that this was the least of what he deserved after the horrible things he had done. Yvette stepped over to them, evaluating the man who had caused so much pain.
"He will be a prisoner of the Shadowgreen Institute. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that no regular prison could hold him."

Scott switched hands to drag Gregori and put his other arm around Jessica's waist.
"You feel cold, babe. Let's get you warmed up in the jet."
While Scott and Jessica made their way to the jet, Yvette rejoined her team. With so many hundreds of people to return to their homes and families, the job would have to be taken up by American military forces. She made a call to the Department of Defense, and she was assured that a group would be arriving to deal with it.

With nothing more that they could do, the Shadow Force got their gear and boarded the jet with Scott and Jessica. Sergio was kept in the cargo hold, and Nick volunteered to stand guard over him. The jet began to lift off, and soothing heat began spreading throughout the jet. Scott was holding Jessica very closely to him under a blanket, warming her up and showing her affection. As her shivering subsided, he gently kissed her cheek.
"I'm really happy that I could give your mom the justice that she deserved."

Jessica smiled a little at Scott's comment about her hugs and nodded as she was guided back to the jet. She sighed in relief once the heat started to spread and cuddled into Scott. She looked up at him with a sad smile and replied with a shaky "Y-Yeah..." Before tears, years of tears, began to flow from her eyes and she buried her face in Scott's chest as she sobbed whole-heartedly, as if she'd never been able to properly mourn her mother's death with not knowing what happened.

Scott watched as Jessica sobbed into his chest, knowing that this was important for her. After years of not knowing what really happened, she finally had justice for her mother. Scott held her close and said nothing, knowing that his presence was all that was needed to be there for her. A few hours later, the jet touched down at Shadowgreen, and everyone disembarked. Once they were in the lab, Yvette opened a special chamber that looked like a giant sealed test tube.
"This will be Blood Wolf's cell," she said as she turned to Scott.

"It's a specially sealed chamber designed to hold a liquid that will put his cells into stasis. It is very similar to being cryogenically frozen, and it should prevent him from using his far-reaching powers to cause more trouble. Some countries within the UN are thinking about using this technology on their most dangerous criminals, but for many, it is still controversial. Since Shadowgreen is its own country, I approved this technology for especially dangerous prisoners. Blood Wolf has done enough harm in his life."
Nick placed Sergio into the chamber, and special restraints locked his arms and legs in place.

Once the chamber was closed, it began filling with green liquid. Once it was filled to the top, Sergio was floating in a state of perpetual unconsciousness. It was Scott's hope that he would stay here forever, but he had too much experience to hope that things would be that easy. Scott turned to Jessica, who was filling better after her good cry.
"Your father and Alan should know that we've brought Blood Wolf to justice. Both of them deserve whatever closure they can get."

Jessica let out a breath as she finally stopped crying a few minutes before the jet touched down. She wiped her eyes and followed everyone into the room that would hold Blood Wolf, hopefully for the rest of his life. She looked up at Scott with her slightly puffy red eyes and smiled softly, nodding. "Yes... Should we go to Alan or my dad's first?"

Scott thought about it, and realized what the right thing to do was.
"We should go see your dad first. After all, it was his wife that Blood Wolf murdered all those years ago."
He turned to Yvette.
"Madame Shadow, I hate to bother you so soon after we got back, but could you fly us to the airport in Maine? My car's there and we can drive the rest of the way."

Yvette turned to him and nodded.
"Sure, just let me refuel. Flying to Alaska and back took a toll on our fuel. You can also trust us to return that rental car of yours."
As the plane began refueling, Scott turned to Jessica and gave her a soft smile. He put his arm around her and hugged her close to him, thankful that this long ordeal was finally over.

Jessica nodded softly in understanding, sighing in comfort when he pulled her close and rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes tiredly.

Scott looked down and noticed that Jessica was very tired. He understood how she was feeling, and felt her warmth against him as he relaxed. About an hour later, the plane was refueled and they went onboard. After they were in their seats, the plane took off and began heading back to Maine. Scott leaned his head against Jessica's and closed his eyes, feeling tired himself. He was not sure for how long he was asleep when the bumping of the plane's landing woke him up.

Scott thanked Yvette for the ride back and found his car in long-term parking as she made to return to Shadowgreen. Once he and Jessica were inside of it, he started it up and began the drive back to her father's farmhouse. With one hand on the wheel, he took hold of Jessica's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. This would not be an easy conversation to have with her father, but at least it would be justice for Blood Wolf's crime.

Jessica fell asleep and barely woke up as they got back on the jet, snuggled into Scott's arms she slept deeply and only woke when the plane was landing. She made her way to Scott's car with him, it was about mid-day in Maine and she squeezed his hand back, smiling at him sadly at his reassurance. Once they made it back she went out to the field to find her dad working.

Mr. Allen had just looked up to wipe some sweat off of his brow when he saw his daughter approaching him in the field. He gave her a broad smile and came over to her.
"I didn't expect to see you again so soon, Jessica."
He gave her a hug and nodded at Scott as he approached.
"It's nice to see you, Scott."
Scott nodded in return, thinking about how to approach this.

"Can we step inside, Mr. Allen? There's something important that we need to talk about."
Mr. Allen nodded.
"Sure. I was just about finished for the day, anyway."
The three went inside and sat down in the living room, each taking a glass of sweet tea from a pitcher.

"So, what did you need to talk about?"
"It's about your wife. We finally brought her killer to justice."
Mr. Allen looked at a picture of his wife on a side table and tears came to his eyes.
"Tell me what happened."
Scott explained everything in detail from beginning to end, and by the end of it, Mr. Allen was in shocked silence.

"A werewolf, huh? And you say that he's somewhere he can't hurt anyone else?"
"Yes," Scott replied, "I am confident that his reign of terror is over."
Mr. Allen folded his hands.
"I'm very thankful to you for what you've done for us. Because of you, my wife's spirit can finally rest in peace."

Scott turned to Jessica.
"You should stay here with your dad. I'm going to go see Alan and tell him about what happened."
Scott got up and exited the house, heading for Jessica's secret spot. He was confident that Empress Enjela would still be close by, and she could open a portal to Scott's realm. His mentor had lived with the guilt of what had happened to Jessica's mother for years, and it was time for Scott to life that burden off of his shoulders.

Jessica looked over at Scott and nodded. "Alright, be careful." She said as she sipped her tea again, sighing tiredly.

Scott had made his way to Jessica's secret spot, looking out over the tranquil waters.
"Empress Enjela...Are you here?"
A few moments later, the Empress came drifting down to hover gracefully over the water.
"Scott, it's so good to see you again."
"You, too, my lady. I need you to open a portal to Alan's realm."

The Empress waved her hand and a large blue portal opened behind her.
"I'll await your return."
Scott nodded and jumped through the portal, landing within the Realm of Fire. He found Alan sitting on his throne, and gave him a smile.
"I come bearing good news."
Alan leaned forward and nodded for him to proceed.

"Blood Wolf has been defeated, and will be imprisoned at Shadowgreen for life. Hopefully, he will never harm anyone again."
Alan leaned back on his throne and nodded with satisfaction.
"I am glad that he is no longer a danger for Earth. I regret that I was not able to stop him myself and the task fell to you. You have my utmost gratitude, and I am glad that Jessica and her family will finally have closure in this matter."

Scott nodded and excused himself, headed back through the portal. He had crossed over onto the shore, and turned as Enjela closed the portal behind him.
"My lady, when I am ready to travel with you to Kasha, I will call out to you."
The Empress nodded, and Scott made his way back to Jessica's house. When he entered the house, he saw a tired Jessica still sitting on the couch.
"Should we spend the night here and head back to New York in the morning?"

Jessica looked up at Scott and smiled a little, nodding. "I'd appreciate it..." She replied, reaching out to him, wanting him near.

Scott smiled as Jessica reached out to him and moved closer, putting his arms around her. He looked into her eyes, entranced by her beauty all over again.
"You're as beautiful as a sunset over the Pacific Ocean."
He gave her a soft kiss on the lips and held her close in a hug, feeling her warmth spread over him. Scott stood up with her in his arms, holding her like a bride.
"If you need us, we'll be upstairs," Scott said to Jessica's father.

Scott walked up the stairs carrying Jessica, kissing her every now and then. He went into the room that they had shared the last time they had been here, and laid down on the bed with her. Scott pulled the covers up on them and turned his attention back to Jessica.
"I love you so much, babe."
He began kissing her again, his kisses filled with longing and passion. As he kissed her, his hands began to lovingly massage her back.

Jessica sighed in comfort when he held her then blushed brightly at his compliment, looking down shyly after the kiss before she blinked in surprise and blushed more as he picked her up and carried her upstairs. It certainly was nice having an extremely strong boyfriend. She snuggled into him as they laid down in bed. She then blushed more at his words and murmured, "I love you too..." Before she sighed in comfort at his kisses and massage.

Scott continued to kiss and massage Jessica, enjoying the closeness with her. After several kisses, he laid down on the bed and snuggled her close to him. He pulled the covers up so that they would be warm. Scott closed his eyes and relaxed as he felt her against him.
"I'm glad that you were there with me on this adventure. I feel like it brought us closer together than ever."

Jessica sighed and relaxed under his love and smiled softly at his words as she looked up at him and kissed his lips softly. "I'm glad I could be with you..." She murmured softly and snuggled into his arms.

Scott fell asleep in the warmth of her arms. The next morning, he had breakfast with Jessica and Mr. Allen before they were to leave to head back to New York. With the threat of Blood Wolf over, they were now to return to their everyday, relatively boring lives. However, before they did so, Scott wanted to spend the day having fun with Jessica. It would be a good way to get back into the swing of things. They got into his car and made the drive back to New York City, Scott holding her hand and talking with her as they did so.

It was early afternoon when they pulled into his driveway, and the day was warm and sunny. Scott got out of the car and went inside with her, getting them some drinks from his kitchen.
"Since it's such a nice day, why don't we hang out together. How about a game of soccer at the park?"
He handed her a glass of iced tea and took a sip of his own. For that day, he just wanted to relax and have some fun with her.