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“Good luck, Invincible,” The Great Tiger whispered, and Invincible roared in triumph.
“Thank you, Great Tiger, for all you've done for me. I am ready! Send me awake, and I promise I will use the powers you’ve given me in the best way that power can be used. Wake me! Wake me now!” he snarled. Darkness swirled in the corners of his eyes, and he fell away into its black void.
His head shot up, and he blinked the sleep out of his eyes. It was pitch-sky, and everyone in the Streak was surely sound asleep. It was time to go to Flora.
Invincible hopped out of his nest and trod toward the den. No one was standing guard tonight, for some reason. But that just made it better. He crept into the cave and stalked to where the sleeping Goldenclaw lay.
He bent close to her and whispered in her ear. “Blite has returned, Flora. It's time for you to die.”
Flora was startled awake, but she didn’t have time to move. Invincible snatched her up by the scruff and sank his teeth in deep. Flora gasped, flailing in her shock, but it was no use. She looked up at him in terror and fury, but Invincible ignored her and trod up the Jagged Cliff. Once at the top, Invincible let her throat go and pinned her down fiercely with his claws at her neck and chest.
“Do not talk,” he snarled in her ear. She clamped her jaws shut in helpless fury.
It’s time to make the announcement.
“Streak! Come out here and face me! Come out of your dens and sit straight! I better see respect!” he yowled. The tigers poked their heads out of their dens and looked at him in frozen shock. Their eyes fell on Flora, trapped under his claws, and howled in protest.
“BLITE!”
“What are you doing?”
“Let her go this instant!”
“No, Blite!”
“Flora!”
Chara and Calzar looked at him, their gazes calm and triumphant. They bounded up to him and sat neatly at his sides.
“Bone? Crymini? What are you doing?” Kopono exclaimed. Invincible snarled softly.
“Those aren't their real names, you see,” Invincible told him silkily. The tigers gasped, the stink of fear rolling off their pelts like a stream.
“Oh, no. No, no,” Invincible laughed, the fear making him stronger. “They were spying for me all along. Are you so bad at patrolling your borders that you don't recognize my scent when I'm right outside your camp?” He gazed around at the Streak, relishing their dumbfounded expressions.
“I am no longer known as Blite! My name is Invincible, and I have all the power you pathetic fools can ever dream of. My friends, Chara and Calzar, are with me until the end, and the end will never happen! I will reign until the end of time, and even after that! And right now, before your own eyes, I will kill Flora,” he snarled.
There was absolute silence, until one tiger yowled, “No! Don't!” The Streak erupted into cries of protest, and it was music to Invincible’s ears. But in a moment he stopped them.
“Silence! Sit down now!” he snarled. The tigers sat, tense. “My cub! Don’t do this!” Silver cried. Invincible looked at her, and fury boiled up inside him.
“I will do it, Silver! You should never have banished me! I have been vowing for revenge since that very moment, and now the Great Tiger is with me! He gave me all this power so I could get my revenge on the Streak that exiled me for being a different color of fur! You should have thought twice about that. But it’s too late. I will make all of you miserable!" he roared.
He looked down at Flora, and she flailed desperately but was no match for Invincible’s strength. “Say goodbye, you foolish Goldenclaw! Your Streak will suffer for what they’ve done, and you will die because of your decision! You could have said no a few blue-skies ago, and I would have grown up to be a loyal member of the Streak. But now, that you’ve made the wrong choice, Invincible has taken over." Invincible looked down at the leader. "Goodbye, Flora Goldenclaw.”
He bit into her neck and sank deep. She struggled, and Invincible crunched deeper. He heard the satisfying crunch as the neck snapped. Flora went limp. The Streak then erupted into cries of horror. Invincible let them grieve for their former leader and then silenced them.
“I am your Goldenclaw now! You will bow before me. I better not hear you grieving for Flora any longer, or I’ll do the same thing to you. I could not care less. I am Invincible Goldenclaw! Say it!” he growled. The Streak hesitated, clamping their jaws shut, but then rose again. “Invincible Goldenclaw! Invincible Goldenclaw!” they cheered gloomily.
“Louder! Don’t be all sad! Crouch now and say it cheerfully!” Invincible snarled.
“Invincible Goldenclaw! INVINCIBLE GOLDENCLAW!" They shouted, their heads high now.
Invincible smiled in satisfaction. “Now, let’s go over some rules. There is no leaving camp unless I say so. There are no patrols unless I know there are. And soon, you will all get your mark, to show that you’re one of mine. Oh, and of course!” Invincible flicked his tail toward the area of thorn bushes at one side of the camp.
“We need to have a punishment, of course. If you break any of these rules, you can be forced to roll in those thorn bushes. You won’t be free until I say you are. I'm sure that would hurt, so... I'd recommend not breaking any rules,” he growled. The tigers looked at the thorn bushes in horror.
Invincible smiled. "I will rule, and you will all be miserable for what you’ve done to me,” he growled.
His eyes caught Howskie and Lichest, and he snarled in fury. “Don't think I've forgotten about you, my tiger-brothers. You are not permitted to play fight or ever hunt in your pathetic lives again. Still don’t want to play with me? Go on, I’d love to hear the insults,” he snarled.
Howskie and Lichest’s mouths gaped, and Lichest squealed, “You can’t make us! We can hunt whenever we want! You can’t make us, black-and-white Blite!” he growled.
Invincible bared his teeth. “If Blite can’t do it, Invincible will make you!" He leaped at the cub, and Lichest yelped in shock. Invincible bowled him over and pinned him down, his claws at his brother’s throat. He could feel the pathetic creature shivering in horror, and Invincible bent down to snarl in his face. “I think you deserve more than stepping on thorns. This is your punishment, cub.”
He twisted around, gripped Lichest's tail in his teeth, and yanked it off.
Lichest screeched in agony, his tail thrown on the ground beside him. The tigers watching howled in protest, and then he did something to die for . . . and then . . . and then Babur Littleclaw leaped at him.
Invincible blinked in surprise and then snarled in rage a heartbeat later, meeting Babur in the air, sinking his claws in his shoulders, bringing them both crashing toward the ground. Invincible brought Babur to the bottom of him in an instant, using the tiger as a cushion, and they landed with a thud.
Babur suddenly went limp, and Invincible sniffed the body.
Blood was coming from his skull. Babur was dead.
354Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShpBn8iiA8
