John and Shira looked up the fleet of helicopters which hovered above them and the entirety of Montreal as a whole, completely surrounding them. The man was stunned, to say the very least, he never expected to be so hopelessly outnumbered, even now that things were going well for them. Their only choice was either a successful negotiation, or evacuation. Fighting was not an option.
It took no time at all for fur troops to rush up to the surface after Francis's order, each and everyone of them standing at the ready to defend their home, including Luna, Cooper and Ivan. Most furs wielded bows and blades, but some held guns that they found over the years. Even though they were all ready to fight to their last breaths as soon as John gave the order, the man would not give it. The only order he would give, would be to evacuate.
John watched as one of the large helicopters lowered to the ground outside of the walls, just small enough to fit in between the many buildings and land on the road. As it did so, he quickly climbed up a ladder that led up to a watch platform, followed by Shira and Luna.
The helicopter touched down moments later, and a large ramp lowered down behind it. The three of them watched as a large number of F.E.O soldiers rushed out, immediately stationing themselves strategically around the walls of Perseverance while pointing big assault rifles at them threateningly.
John could hear a livid growl coming from Luna when she realized that this was F.E.O, the same people who killed her pack. The wolf girl only felt hatred now, no fear, which was why the man placed a hand on her shoulder, an effort to calm her down.
But he too would feel the same hatred that she felt when he saw a man, who undeniably resembled Artimas's figure walk out of the helicopter, followed by the Supreme and Vizla. The two men looked coldly into each other's eyes, as if everything around them no longer existed. It was just them, their rivalry, and their undying hatred for one another... until he regained his focus, and watched as the Supreme stepped closer to the walls.
"So you must be this fur fucker I've heard so much about." The Supreme glared up at the man, although her face was covered by her helmet, it was still clear that her expression was twisted into one of hatred. "You do remember our laws, yes? Just because our world collapsed does not mean that F.E.O have fallen, we never will."
John was silent for a moment, thinking carefully about how he would respond. "No, I remember them pretty well ma'am, just always felt different." he said truthfully, and uncaringly.
"Hm, is that so?" The Supreme mumbled under her breath. "Listen fur fucker, I have come to enforce F.E.O law, since I see now that things have gotten out of control. You will die today, but the furs you lead have a chance to live, and return to their natural enslaved state under my rule. Order them to lay down their arms, and walk in an orderly manner through that gate... if you do not, they will all die with you. What will it be?"
"Eat a dick, bitch." Luna spat in the Supremes' direction, once again having to be calmed by John and Shira. But clearly... the Supreme did not take kindly to the insult.
"Maybe we can work something else out?" John asked calmly, keeping a hand on Luna's shoulder. "Look around... this place proves that the world is more than just conflict between human and fur... these very walls were built by humans who accepted." the man spoke as calm, and convincingly as he could, looking directly into the eyes of the Supremes' helmet. "We don't have to keep fighting each other... especially now that we all have a common enemy. Imagine how far we could get if we put all of our differences behind us, and worked together."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as the Supreme actually considered the man's words, the only sound being heard were the helicopters that still loomed above. Artimas and Vizla's glared did not halt as their leader contemplated, but after a moment... she made her decision.
She looked up at the platform where John, Shira and Luna stood to say one, simple word... "No."
John closed his eyes and sighed through his nose, realizing that the Supreme was stubborn on her stance. She wouldn't accept any offer that he made. He was getting ready to yell the order to evacuate through Perseverance's escape tunnels... but suddenly, Luna snatched his holstered desert eagle... and pointed it at the Supreme.
"Enough of this psycho bitch." Luna growled with bared teeth, flicking the safety to John's gun off.
"Luna, NO!" John yelled, but neither he nor Shira acted quick enough to stop Luna from pulling the trigger, creating a loud bang as a bullet was sent straight towards her head.
But... something strange happened. It seemed like the bullet bounced off something before it even reached her, showing a dark red, faint dome around the Supreme for a brief second. There was once again an eerie silence as the three of them tried to make sense of what they just saw, but the Supreme began to chuckle faintly, as if she were genuinely amused by the wolf girl's attempt at killing her. This went on for almost a minute before she went deafly silent again, and returned her gaze to them.
"You better run." She warned coldly, laughing once more as she looked up and gave a few arm signals to the helicopters above... the unmistakable sound of gatling guns spinning being heard moments after.
John's eyes widened when he heard that sound, he was all to familiar with it... and knew what happens next. "FALL BACK!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he turned around, barking the order to the fur troops, who immediately followed his command and rushed towards the ramp that led down underground with distressed, panicked cries.
What followed was the deafening sound of gatling guns beginning to rain down bullets on the retreating furs, tearing most of them apart due to the sheer size and velocity of the bullets being fired. John grabbed both Shira and Luna and jumped off the platform with them in an effort to avoid the bullets, causing them to fall the short distance to the ground with a thud. They quickly got up and pressed their backs against the gate... given the unfortunate, disturbing sight of their troops being mowed down by the downpour of bullets, while some did manage to escape underground on time. There was a pileup of bodies within seconds... shocking the man by just how quickly things turned chaotic, but his main focus now was getting back to his daughter, and making sure that as many of his people as possible escaped.
"Nice one Luna, what the fuck were you thinking?!" Shira screamed lividly in the wolf girl's ear, but Luna seemed to be zoned out, still holding onto John's desert eagle... there was a clear, strong feeling of guilt and regret present in her eyes.
"Now's not the time... when I say, we make a run for the ramp. Got it?" John asked, raising his voice a little so they could hear him over the gunfire. But before either of them could respond, they heard some noise coming from the gate behind them, almost as if they were now trying to break in. "Shit, go now!" he exclaimed, holding onto both their arms as they made a dash for the ramp, having no choice but to chance their luck.
And as their luck would have it, the downpour of bullets from the helicopters came to an abrupt stop, the reason later becoming clear that it was to allow the F.E.O troops entry as they blasted the gate open easily with their combined helmet lasers.
The three of them were able to reach John's truck on time which was nearby the ramp, they quickly ducked behind it to hide from the approaching troops, which brought them unfortunately closer to the piles of mangled fur corpses.
"This... is all my fault." Luna could just barely be heard whispering, her behaviour showed that she was in a state of shock. "I... caused this."
John didn't pay attention to Luna's whispers and suddenly snatched his gun back from her, then carefully peaked over his truck. He saw the troops march their way inside, examining the dead fur bodies as if they were looking for survivors. But then, the sound of Perseverance's hatch sliding over could be heard, the unmistakable screeching sound telling them that they had a window... but not for long.
"GO!" John exclaimed, quickly rising from his cover as he fired a few shots at the troops to distract them while Luna and Shira made a dash for it.
The soldiers would immediately return fire, forcing John to duck again to avoid the bullets. Luckily though, his distraction worked well enough to allow Luna and Shira enough time to reach the ramp, but the lizard had to drag the wolf girl along with her as she was still in her frozen, guilt ridden state. John remained behind his truck, pressing his hand against the cold metal as he realized that this was probably the end for him... he was happy to have at least gotten the ones he loved to safety.
But just when he thought he was going to die, Shira popped her head back above the hatch as it continued its slow close and began firing a multitude of arrows at the troops, each and every one of them striking an area on their necks that the armor did not cover, killing them. "JOHN, COME ON! I GOT YOU!" the lizard screamed.
The man wasted no time, realizing that it was now or never. He quickly hopped up to his feet and ran as fast as he could towards the ramp, hearing Shira's arrows and the troops bullets whizzing past him. The hatch was almost fully closed as he got closer, and by the time he was within arms reach, there was only a small gap... but he jumped for it, just barely managing to fit through and unintentionally landing on top of Shira in a compromising position, right as the hatch above them created a loud 'THUMP', signalling that it closed and they were safe... for now.
Shira wrapped her arms tightly around John as they both laid on the ground in this position, before she started sobbing quietly into him. "I... I've got you." she stuttered... she thought she was going to lose him moments ago.
"I got you first." John hushed with a quiet, soothing voice while he ran his fingers gently over her soft scales. "Come on... we need to get out of here, okay?" he asked softly, slowly getting back up while also helping Shira to her feet, to which the lizard slowly nodded her head with tears still dripping from her eyes.
When the two of them stood up, they noticed Luna a few feet away, hunched up in a ball and crying to herself. The sight saddened John, but... he understood the guilt that must've been overwhelming her, since she most likely thought that she provoked that chaos which got hundreds, possibly close to a thousand killed in seconds. He too felt a great amount of guilt but... nowhere near what Luna was feeling.
"Luna... listen to me." John said softly, crouching down in front of the wolf girl. "I know how you're feeling right now, but we'll talk about this later. For now, I need you to stay strong, and help me get the rest of our people out of here. Okay?" he slowly, and gently placed his hand on Luna's shoulder.
Luna's cries quietened, and she slowly uncovered her eyes to look at the man. She may have felt guilt for the deaths of those furs, but she realized she could still help the survivors. "O-Okay." she responded, slowly standing to her feet with the quiet, faint sobs still prominent.
"Alright, we don't have much time, come on." Said the man as he started jogging down the ramp, followed by the two girls until they reached the vehicle bay, where all of the furs of Perseverance were crowded, conversing with each other in clear panic.
Francis quickly took notice of the three of them and rushed over, with Vulpes right next to him. "John, what the fuck happened up there?!" the coyote was clearly shook, as was the fox doctor.
"Chaos." The man replied simply, taking a single step closer to Francis. "Ren, Mia.. and Aya... where are they?"
Francis was confused for a moment due to his shock, but he quickly understood the man's question. "Oh, yeah... they're fine John, we got them to the cabin, as you commanded."
"Good work." The man said with clear relief, and gently patted Francis's shoulder before moving to stand in front of the crowd. "Everyone, listen up!" he yelled at the top of is lungs, managing to catch the panicked crowd's attention. "Alright, we have three escape tunnels and not a lot of time! So we're gonna split into three big groups, okay? It'll conf-" his sentence was cut off as the ground beneath them rumbled, caused by rapid explosions directly above them... it was clear that Perseverance was now being bombarded by missiles. "Alright everyone that's our que! Remember, this place isn't Perseverance. We are!" The man yelled at the top of his lungs as the furs became far more panicked.
Everyone struggled to keep their balance as the ground shook violently, but the man quickly turned back to the others, right as Cooper and Ivan rushed over.
"We have to make this quick, the foundations won't hold for long!" John yelled to them, barely able to hear anything other than the deafening explosions above. "Luna, Cooper and Ivan, you take the east tunnel! Shira, you take the south! Francis, you're with me, we'll take the north. Now GO!"
Everyone rushed off towards their assigned escape tunnels, gathering large groups of furs to follow their lead until they disappeared from sight due to running through the tunnels. John kept up with his and Francis's group but eventually, he heard part of the ceiling over by the vehicle bay collapsing... now realizing that F.E.O would now enter to pick off as much as they could.
"Francis, keep going, I'll buy you all some time!" John yelled to the coyote before he quickly hid behind a small wall that he passed. Francis couldn't even argue due to immediately being grabbed by Vulpes, not allowing him to stop running.
"John you crazy bastard!" The coyote managed to yell as he was pulled along by Vulpes. "Here, take this!" Francis tossed a small object to John, which the man caught with one hand.
John looked at what was in his hand and saw that it was a grenade, snickering slightly as he knew this would come in handy. He put it in his jacket pocket and watched as the furs continued running, getting closer and closer to the light way in the distance. "Lady of death, if you're there... could use a little blessing here." he whispered to himself, before sliding his sword from his sheath, still holding his gun in the other hand... and waited patiently.
-
Ren was pacing around the living room of the cabin impatiently, desperate for answers after Francis gave them the order to evacuate while Mia was sat on a small sofa, with Aya cuddled into the white wolf's lap. Aura also sat by their side, retaining her reputation as the loyal guard dog. They were in a pretty nice and cozy cabin though, which was made up of large tree logs with a lit fireplace in front of them.
"What the hell is going on over there?" Mia asked Ren quietly, clearly trying her best not to scare little Aya.
To answer that question, Ren stopped her pacing and walked over to the living room window, which gave them a good view of Montreal from a clear good distance away. The cabin was miles apart from the city. But then, she saw large fireballs in the distance, multiple explosions going off around Perseverance which was later followed by the incredibly loud, rapid booms. The bombs were so powerful that they could feel the ground shaking from where they stood.
"Nothing good." Ren finally answered after a short pause of clear disbelief, not wanting to believe that their home was being utterly destroyed. Aya was immediately terrified of the bombs and bawled as she clung to Mia, while Aura barked loudly in response to the explosions.
"Shhh, shhh, it's okay little bird, nothing's gonna hurt you." Mia hushed as she soothingly stroked Aya's head, trying her best to calm the child down.
"Wh-Wheya's daddy?" Aya cried, clinging to Mia's white fur tighter.
Ren slowly approached and crouched in front of Mia so that she could look directly at little Aya. "I'm sure daddy's on his way, and with your mommy too. So stop the tears, okay honey?" she said with such a sweet, and motherly voice. She was successful in calming the chick's cries, earning a small smile from Mia.
"You make a great mom." The white wolf whispered quietly. Even though something horrible was going on at that moment, she was still able to find something to smile about.
"Heh... so do you." Ren whispered back, gently patting Mia's lap as she stood back up, and looked back out of the window. She knew that whoever was attacking must've been very powerful, but she already lost one child. If this danger found its way to them... she would not allow fate to take another child from her.
-
Artimas, Vizla, and the Supreme simply watched the chaos unfold, earning front row seats as missile after missile struck the surface of Perseverance. But when the Supreme noticed the surface collapse slightly, she held her fist up in the air... and the helicopters above almost instantly halted their attack.
She didn't speak a word as she walked towards the collapsed rubble, followed by her loyal troops as she carefully climbed down the collapsed surface, which brought her down to the completely decimated vehicle bay. Her troops followed her down as she examined the place, seemingly searching for any furs. But all she spotted were the three escape tunnels, and her fists clenched with agitation.
"They will not get away." She grumbled under her breath, before glancing back slightly at her troops. "Vizla, take the south tunnel, kill any fur you see." She commanded.
"Yes Supreme." Vizla responded deeply, and emotionlessly, immediately taking charge of a large group of troops, who followed him towards the south tunnel.
"Artimas, you will prove your worth to me today." The Supreme said simply, before pointing towards the north tunnel. "Go, I will handle the east."
Artimas responded with a single nod, not speaking a word... but he was grinning under his helmet as he felt excitement to finally kill again. Another large group of troops followed him, while the rest followed the Supreme loyally. It seemed that the furs efforts to escape may be futile.
-
Luna, Cooper and Ivan were leading the way through the east tunnel, with a panicked crowd of furs close behind them.
"We must be close." Said Ivan, huffing and puffing as he struggled to keep up his pace, which was even more difficult for the bear due to the large pack he was carrying.
"Yeah, we are. Just a little mo-" Cooper's sentence was suddenly interrupted by the sound of machine guns being fired at them from behind, which caused distressed screams from the crowd as they all pushed to run faster.
It soon became a stampede, most furs quickly becoming concerned with only their lives and nobody else's.
"Shit!" Luna screamed, just barely managing to move to the side as furs tumbled over behind her, but when she turned her head to the side... she caught sight of the Supreme, making her scowl with pure hatred as the two locked eyes with each other.
But now was no time for vengeance, more furs were being slaughtered like packed animals... and it seemed as though there was nothing they could do.
"Blyad'." Ivan whispered with a sigh as he stood still for a moment, and took off his pack to reach into it. He pulled out a very large gun of some kind, before tossing the pack to Cooper, who quickly caught it.
"Ivan... what the fuck are you doing?" Cooper asked, slowly looking up at the huge bear. It was clear he already suspected what Ivan was planning, and shed a small tear because of it.
"Being hero." Ivan replied softly, forming a small smile as he gently wiped away Cooper's tear, before turning around and moving passed the rushing furs... directly towards enemy fire without a single thought.
Luna and Cooper could only watch with tears as the Russian bear reached the rear of the crowd, beginning to take multiple bullets from F.E.O troops. His blood splattered across the ground and the walls as bullets penetrated him, before the punishment was too much, and he collapsed belly first with his big gun in hand.
"IVAN!" Luna screamed with horror, helpless to do anything for her squad mate due to being pinned behind cover.
A small tear shed from Ivan's eye as he bled out on the ground, but he managed to snicker quietly as he looked directly towards the troops fearlessly, making eye contact with the Supreme as he used his last strength to point his gun up towards the ceiling, now that the furs were long passed him. His gun was now clearly seen as his old grenade launcher. "Ledi smerti." he whispered... before he pulled the trigger.
A grenade was projected from Ivan's gun, which struck the ceiling with an ear piercing 'Boom!'. But the bear's plan worked, and the ceiling that he fired at collapsed down onto the F.EO troops, the Supreme... and him too. He sacrificed himself to save the others.
Luna and Cooper were left in devasted tears as they watched their squad mate's heroic sacrifice, slowly moving from their cover to look at the rubble that collapsed and saved them all. The crowd of furs also stopped to look back.
"C-Come on... we can't let him die in vain." Cooper sobbed, quickly putting on Ivan's pack before grabbing Luna's hand, pulling the crying wolf girl along with him as they took the lead once again... not once looking back.
-
Similar to the east tunnel, the south was receiving the exact same treatment. The crowd of furs that Shira was leading began taking fire from behind, only difference being that these troops were led by the huge Vizla. But he did not use something so cowardly like guns, no... his tactic was nightmarish, and he charged ahead to kill furs with his huge bare hands, killing some with a single devastating punch. Any attempt to fire guns or arrows at the brute was completely useless due to his dragon hide armor... he was nigh on indestructible.
The lizard was trying her best to fire arrows behind her as she ran, still never missing a shot in their necks. But she stopped in her tracks when she saw Vizla's spree, and scowled as she sent an arrow right for his neck.
But to her surprise... the brute caught the arrow without so much as a second of hesitation, before he hauntingly turned his head in her direction. He snapped the arrow by closing his fist, then began a charge straight for the lizard.
Shira's heart was racing and she quickly pulled out an... oddly shaped arrow, then fired it right at the ground. The arrow popped upon collision and began emitting a large amount of smoke, which hid her and her crowd of furs from the troops. But instead of running with what little remained of the crowd, she stayed behind, ready with a defensive stance.
Vizla suddenly emerged from the smoke, resembling an enraged gorilla as she charged towards the lizard, not even giving her a second to react as he grabbed her by the neck with one hand, and slammed her hard and painfully against the wall. She struggled and tried desperately to pry his hand off her neck... but his strength far exceeded her own, and her feet were no longer touching the ground due to Vizla holding her up on level with his massive height.
"Hello lizard. a pointless, but valiant effort." Vizla said simply with his low voice, before preparing to close his fist and crush Shira's neck with it.
But Shira screamed, using every bit of strength that she had to dig her claws as deep as she could into the brute's neck, which felt like she was trying to dig them into solid stone. But she managed to break skin, making Vizla growl with agony and drop the lizard to the ground so that he could hold his bleeding neck.
Shira dizzily stood to her feet, breathing heavily as she grabbed her bow and whacked the brute across the face with it. But Vizla barely even reacted, and simply backhanded the lizard in return, which sent her flying off to the other side of the tunnel to collide with the wall. She spat out blood as she rose to her knees, quickly knocking an arrow and aiming at him... but since he was covering his neck with his hands, she couldn't make a fatal shot... so she made do with slowing him down, and fired an arrow at his foot, which easily pierced straight through his boot.
"Agh!" Vizla yelled, falling to one knee as he grabbed the arrow with a wince.
Shira knew that she couldn't kill the brute, even in his current state it was highly likely that he would come out on top. So she made the wise move, and took her opportunity to run while she still could, stumbling dizzily down the tunnel with her bow in hand... and leaving behind a very pissed off Vizla.
-
Back over at the east tunnel, Ivan's sacrifice proved very effective to crush the F.E.O troops and allow their crowd of furs to escape... but one troop survived, and the rubble that buried her suddenly shifted as she rose up. The protective dome around her was now a much darker shade of red as she climbed free, and summoned the Suleykaar. The Supreme was angry... livid.
"They've played their game. Now help me end this, great one." She whispered, holding the blade close to her face as she spoke. As a result of her whisper, the Suleykaar glowed a dark, ominous red... which was followed by what seemed like hundreds of swirls of blood projecting from it, zooming off in all directions.
Whatever the Supreme did was not good... at all. She unleashed Baylor's wrath.
-
John was still behind his cover, he could hear the troops approaching down his tunnel, and he was prepared with his desert eagle and sword in hand. He took a quick peak around his corner and was... unnerved. There was a lot of them, and he was sure that he spotted Artimas.
He took a few deep breaths as he focused, feeling the familiar cold energy running through his veins which made his eyes glow blue. He waited until a few of them passed him obliviously... which was when he struck. The power he wielded made it easy for him to drive his sword into one troop's chest, despite their strong armour. He had no time to pull the blade back out though, so let go of the handle and acted quickly to whack another troop across the face with his gun, before bringing him into an arm lock with the barrel of his desert eagle poked right at his neck threateningly.
Needless to say, John now had every gun pointed right at him and the troop he was using as a shield, as a hostage. "All of you fuckers listen! If each and every one of you don't lay your guns and helmets on the ground, and walk away... then this guy's gonna have a real fucking hard time breathing soon!" He warned, backing up with the troop.
A slow, mocking clap was heard as Artimas stepped forward, looking directly into the man's eyes. "Oh Johnathan, I must say, I did miss you... in the hateful, vengeful sort of way." He said with no emotion, approaching him even as John backed up. "You think this is going to save you? That soldier is prepared to die for the glory of F.E.O, isn't that right?"
"Yes... glory, to Supreme." The troop managed to choke out in response, with a disturbing amount of loyalty towards this evil militia.
"Well ain't you a little fuckin' shoe kisser?" John whispered to the troop, pushing his gun's barrel harder into his neck as he backed up with him. "Thought you were dead man... shit, what was your name again? Don't tell me, it was something stupid... uhhh... Arthritis?"
"Very amusing John, it's Artimas." He responded, still stepping ominously closer to John. "Yes, I was gone for a long time... but I will never rest until you, and all fur kind have been extinguished."
"Damn, what fur took a shit on your scrambled eggs?" John mocked, clearly not taking Artimas seriously.
Artimas was silent for a moment, taking a deep breath which was likely to control his anger. "Yes, laugh Johnathan... you will not be laughing when I bring the suffering on the furs you love so much. And before I kill them, I will make sure they all know exactly who... and what you are. The man who got them all killed!" He promised, raising his voice.
Before John could even respond, his attention was diverted to the swirls of a blood like substance zooming passed all of them. He was so confused by what he just saw that he even whispered "What the fuck?" before he focused on Artimas again... who was using the distraction to his advantage and charged straight towards John.
The man scowled, his eyes glowing once again as he pulled the trigger, shooting his troop in the neck before tossing his lifeless body at Artimas, who carelessly backhanded it out of the way so that he could charge into John and tackle him to the ground.
John landed with a thud on his back while Artimas climbed on top of him, immediately punching him in the face over and over with his metal gauntlet. The man spat out blood, but simply kicked Artimas in the gut to try and get him off. All this achieved though was a grunt from him... and provoked the mad militant to charge up his helmet's eye lasers, which was clear due to their gradually brightening glow... and it was pointed right at John's face.
"Fuck." John grunted, finally managing to free his arm as he channeled his power to it before letting out a cry of rage as he reached up and grabbed the chin of Artimas's helmet, pointing his head upwards.
Artimas's lasers projected from his eyes, directly to the ceiling above which cut through the concrete like a knife through butter. Knowing that the ceiling was about to collapse, both men scrambled to their feet and rushed off to opposite sides, watching as the rubble collapsed and shone the light of day down onto them. Noticing his opportunity, John pointed his desert eagle at Artimas and fired a few shots at him, each of them being blocked by his armor. The man rushed to climb up the rubble, with Artimas hot on his tail.
The two men climbed to the surface in no time, with John instantly facing Artimas in a defensive stance. The mad militant threw a punch, which the man ducked under before delivering a punch of his own, which was far more powerful due to the power he wielded. Artimas almost lost his footing and stumbled back while John tried to fire his gun at him, only to hear a click. He'd ran out of ammunition.
"Shit." John grumbled, tucking the gun away in his jacket pocket. He looked around and quickly recognized his surroundings, mainly for the small familiar cliff behind him. But far off to the distance he could see the complete and utter destruction of Perseverance, along with surrounding buildings in Montreal. "You brought these people to my doorstep, didn't you? You son of a bitch." he spat out some blood as he spoke.
"Yes, I decided to return to my past to enlist their services. They are a serious force to be reckoned with, as you've seen... but they'll be mine soon." Artimas spoke vaguely, coughing a few times as he regained his focus. "All I have to do... is get your annoying self out of my way, then I can begin with my plan." he slowly approached John, cracking his neck.
John scowled lividly as he watched Artimas approach, and the two immediately engaged in a bloodied brawl, delivering punch after punch to each other in various places. Only a few minutes in, John's face was battered and bruised while Artimas's armor was scuffed and deeply dented in some areas, due to John's extremely powerful punches.
But enough was enough, this had to end at some point. Artimas attempted blasting John again with his eye lasers, but the man dodged out the way and grabbed the chin of his helmet, pointing the lasers away from him while he used his other hand to reach into his jacket pocket to pull something out. The man struggled for a moment to jam the object he pulled out in between Artimas's chest plate, but eventually he succeeded and backed away. Which gave Artimas enough time to deliver a nasty kick to John's chest, which created an audible cracking sound as the man stumbled back.
Artimas grinned widely behind his helmet as he watched John fall off the small cliff, later tumbling down the rocky ground all the way to the bottom... but he heard something, almost like a faint ticking sound. Curious, he looked down at his chest plate and spotted the source... a grenade.
"Fu-." the grenade exploded violently with a very loud boom, sending Artimas straight to the ground instantly. His armor did extraordinarily well to protect him though, the explosion created black scuffs and a massive dent on his chest plate... but he was still alive, just unconscious. And he probably would be for a while.
Meanwhile, John was also unconscious at the bottom of the cliff, still breathing but covered in his own blood due to the rocks that scratched him on the way down... there was no winner with this fight, both men bested each other, which would go on to strengthen their rivalry.
-
Luna, Cooper and their crowd of furs finally emerged from the end of the east tunnel, which brought them out to a small patch of woods far away from Montreal. The city could still be seen in the distance, along with the total destruction of their home. Luna and Cooper still had tears spilling from their eyes, remaining close to each other as they all emerged from the tunnel.
"Wh-What now?" asked Luna, sniffling as she turned to look at Cooper.
Cooper was silent for a moment, as he thought about where to go from here. "I... guess we try to find John and the others. We have to regroup." replied the wolf, looking around their surroundings while holding onto the strap of Ivan's pack.
This seemed to be in consensus with the rest of the fur crowd, knowing they would all be safer as one again. But... Luna heard something, her ears flicking up as she focused on the noise. She could tell it was originating from the tunnel so, she stepped closer to it and listened carefully. It sounded almost a steady, continuous gust of air coming from deep within the tunnel, but gradually getting closer. Cooper also heard the noise after a moment and stood next to the wolf girl to join her in trying to work out what it was... but then they saw what appeared to be a dark red glow from within.
"Cooper... that doesn't look good." Luna was very clearly worried and backed up slightly with fear, while the crowd were seemingly oblivious to what was going on.
Cooper couldn't even respond before many red swirls of blood flew out from the tunnel, making everyone gasp with fear and cower. Nobody knew quite what they were looking at, but Cooper dropped Ivan's pack and quickly pulled out his daggers, watching as the blood swirls loomed above them, like vultures flying over their prey.
Suddenly, the blood swirls flew straight to the ground and formed into... figures, horrible red, monstrous figures. They later resembled F.E.O soldiers... almost like they were once real people, now cursed to these blood monsters.
"Blood demons... Everyone run!" Cooper yelled at the top of his lungs with horror at what he was looking at. He'd heard stories about these monsters and thought they were only myth and legend... and yet he was looking at them with his own eyes.
At the same time as the crowd let out distressed screams, the blood demons created loud, horrible monstrous screeches as they suddenly dashed towards any fur they saw. Their arms formed into sharp nubs which they used to stab through them, seemingly being able to kill with one, single strike. Some of the blood demons formed into blood swirls again so they could fly and catch up with retreating furs, before they would form back into their bodies to kill them.
Luna could only watch, frozen with horror as these terrifying monsters screeched and massacred every fur in sight. She saw Cooper fighting them off with his daggers, skillfully slicing off their arms as they swung at him... which proved futile as their arms grew back within a mere second.
Cooper quickly took notice of Luna and kicked the blood demon pursuing him in the chest, making it stumble back so that he could run towards the wolf girl, quickly grasping her shoulders. "Luna, you have to-" he was cut off mid sentence with a pained gasp, suddenly coughing blood onto her face.
Luna was confused and was suddenly brought back to reality. She looked down to see that a blood demon had stabbed Cooper right through his chest. "C-Cooper?" she whispered with horror, but she watched as the wolf's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and as soon as the blood demon yanked the sharp tip of its arm out of him, he went completely limp and fell into the wolf girl.
The wolf girl collapsed to the ground due to the weight of Cooper's body falling against her, which caused his lifeless body to fall on top of her. The blood demon that killed him didn't seem to notice Luna and went back to killing other furs, leaving Luna to lay on the ground, hidden by her last squadmate's dead body. She spilled a tremendous amount of tears due to the horror of what was happening... she had her best friend's body on top of her, and she was forced to listen to her people's distressed cries of agony as they were slaughtered by these monsters... ensuring that the day F.E.O returned would be forever engrained in her mind.