Rosalyn ran as hard as she could, panting wildly.
The night sky was thick with smoke and flame. The scent of the fox-girl hung heavy in the air, as well as the scents for the three humans.
She prayed she wouldn’t be too late.
…
The older human picked himself up from the water. He stood separate from his companions she noted.
“Well,” the man said with a small flourish, “here he is, the one that got away from you.” The man self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m glad you got the message.”
He took a step forward. A quick burst of flame stopped him dead in his tracks.
“Okay,” he said stepping back. “I get the point.”
She looked at each of them, a kid, the traitor amongst them, and her unfinished meal. He was little more than skin and bones now.
“What happens now?” he asked.
She smirked. Beside him was a survivor of a kid, but still just a kid. In a few years maybe, but not now.
“So you plan to kill even me over him.”
Of the three, he was definitely the biggest and had the most muscle on him. He was a traitor though, even if it was to his own kind. That always left a sour taste in her mouth.
She narrowed her eyes at the three of them. There wasn’t much of a choice at all.
Her finger twitched over the trigger for the metal wand.
She never looked to the sky, and never saw the figure until it crashed into her, throwing them into the trees.
…
‘Smack!’
Margarita felt her teeth jostle as she flew backwards through the air. She hit the ground hard, the oily mud splashing everywhere.
“Dominate as to erase,” said her attacker, “wiping man off Earth’s face now.”
Margarita painfully picked herself up, struggling to her feet.
“Fueling engines through deceit,” continued the large Tank Vixxen, “to eradicate humanity. Man is obsolete, erased…extinct.”
The fox-type snarled and leapt at Margarita, her face a mix of both rage and sorrow.
Her jaws snapped, catching a mouthful of hair as Margarita jerked to the left. The Tank Vixxen pulled hard on Margarita’s shoulder-length locks, the grip firm despite the grease and grime.
Margarita couldn’t help but scream as the roots of her scalp tried to tear free.
The Tank Vixxen slammed her knuckles in the G-Splice’s kidney. Margarita pivoted and threw an elbow at the face that gripped her hair, her side in agony from the rabbit punch.
The furred face responded with a solid crunch as the blow landed squarely. Still her opponent refused to let go.
Margarita followed up the elbow with a wild punch that the fox-girl easily warded off. A clawed hand raked across her face in response.
…
The two flying bodies caught Rosalyn by surprise as they crashed into a tree in front of her. Chunks of earth, leaves, and the very tree itself flew everywhere in the explosion of the impact.
Rosalyn made her way forward cautiously, unsure of what to expect.
…
“You son of a bitch!”
Ignacio leapt through the water after Benson, the bandage for his eye sockets floating nearby and stained in blood.
Benson sidestepped, letting the blind man crash back into the water. He glanced at Timmy.
The boy was on the verge of collapse, his face blank and his eyes unfocused.
Benson took another step away from Ignacio as the furious youth rose back to his feet.
“I’ll kill you,” panted Ignacio. “I’ll fucking kill you.”
Benson pulled a cigar from his pocket and dropped it in the water. It wasn’t as if he needed anymore, he figured.
“No you won’t,” Benson said taking off his coat. “Not here, not now.” He tossed the coat to the side, where it sank into the water.
“You gave me a chance at a shot,” he said as he stretched out his arms, “so I’ll return the favor. One shot, from you to me.”
Coughing, Ignacio ran a hand along his nose wiping it clean.
“Fuckin’ kill you,” Ignacio was barely able to manage. “Son of a bitch.”
Benson raised his fists and fell into a boxer’s stance.
“Take your shot,” he whispered.
…
With a kick, the Tank Vixxen knocked Margarita back. She landed with a loud splat as the oily mud splashed around her.
She was tired, out of breath, and hurt all over.
‘Get up.’
The fires continued to rage around them. The sound of the flames were like a distant lullaby.
‘Get up!’
It hurt to move, hurt just to think.
‘Fight to win. Fight to survive.’
She felt almost at peace. The humans were safe by now, her job was done. Soon she would be with her sister-daughter in the Great Beyond.
“You were a good fighter,” said her opponent, walking closer. “A true warrior, befitting a grave amongst warriors.”
‘No!’ She wasn’t done yet. There was more left to do, things left still undone.
She tried to rise up, her body in complete agony.
“Don’t struggle,” said the furred woman. “This will be fast. My sisters would want to do that.”
Her sisters? No, her sister-daughter. ‘Vengence.’ Blood for her sister-daughter. Blood for Yolanda, for the ties that bound them.
‘Do it,’ said a familiar voice inside her head. ‘Live.’
She grabbed the hand reaching for her throat.
“No!” Margarita screamed out.
She kicked the Tank Vixxen, knocking the girl back.
The fires around them seemed to grow more intense as the girl wiped the blood from her muzzle and Margarita climbed to her feet. The two stared at each other.
“The death of a warrior,” the Tank Vixxen said at last. “I accept that.”
Margarita nodded. “We both fight for something more. I accept that.”
The Tank Vixxen took a sidestep as Margarita did the same. Behind her, the flames burst out of the cabin windows. The Tank Vixxen twitched, a flicker of light flaring up.
‘Now.’
Margarita moved quickly, taking her steps as fast as she could. Her opponent raised her hands, a metal-tube just beginning to materialize.
Margarita jumped.
Her foot landed square, driving itself deep into the girl’s chest.
The Tank Vixxen stumbled back, the edges of her fur brushing with the fire.
“Not enough.” The metal wand pointed itself directly at Margarita.
“No,” the G-Splice said, wiping some of the oily dirt from her face, “I think that did it.” She smiled widely. “Your tail’s on fire.”
The Tank Vixxen looked down in horror as the flames crawled up the napalm soaked mud that covered her body. She looked back at Margarita.
“Nothing is the way it seems.”
The fires engulfed her completely.
Margarita fell to her knees, tired and in pain. Breathing a sigh of relief, she fell forward as sleep overtook her.
The winds caught the flames, letting them engulf the cabin completely. Shadows draped themselves across the smoke.
A large creature dropped down from the sky, landing next to the two combatants.
“Well fought, both of you,” Baby Blue told them. She looked at the sleeping Margarita. “Enjoy your rest. I shall free you from your shackles to humanity, before letting you become free yourself.”
She took to the sky once more.
…
The head landed at Rosalyn’s feet, a trail of blood leading back to the rest of the red-furred body. It was a sight the Ding-ho could hardly believe.
She looked like a blood splattered angel with her wings fully extended as she stood over the body of the Tank Vixxen. She pulled the sword from the earth, the three interconnected circles that encompassed the jewel embedded on her metal breastplate shimmering in the firelight.
Rosalyn took a deep breath and looked the Valkyrie in the eyes. They were wild, untamed eyes. Eyes filled with suspicion, mistrust and longing.
Rosalyn swallowed, feeling her nerves settle down. She smiled, and extended her hand.
In the nearby distance, a male voice cried out in pain.
The two girls ran, their destinations both the same.
…
Ignacio cried out in pain as Benson twisted out the teen’s arm behind his back.
He flailed wildly, his right fist failing wherever Benson stood.
“You never stood a chance,” Benson chortled to his right.
Ignacio swung, hitting nothing but water.
“I should have killed back in that parking lot, then I would never of had to go through this.”
Benson let go of Ignacio’s arm only to deliver a hammer blow to the side of the teen’s head. Ignacio struggled to find his feet in the waist high water, ignoring the copper taste in his mouth.
“Why?” Ignacio coughed. “Why this?”
“I wanted to let you die in Canada, but those damn bitches stole Simmons and took him with you.”
Ignacio stood up. “So what?”
“You don’t get it do you? They’ve won. Mankind is finished. All that’s left is finding a way to save yourself, and I refuse to die.”
“Then why save me?” Ignacio coughed as he turned trying to find Benson. “What could you gain?”
“Heh, a new chance,” Benson said. “Simmons had a direct connection to the leftovers of the army’s high command. He was a first cousin or something, and a path to get me freedom from this hell.”
A large hand placed itself on Ignacio’s shoulder.
“Even the birds are here to witness your death kid. It should be an honor.”
Ignacio grabbed the arm. “I hope you choke on it.”
Benson laughed and shoved Ignacio back in the water. “You would never make it. It’s better for you this way.”
Ignacio picked himself back up once more, trying to think. What could he do? He couldn’t even see when Benson would take a swing.
He couldn’t do a damn thing.
“If you have any last words, I’d say them now. Otherwise, it’ll…Shit, that’s no damn bird! Timmy run for it!”
Ignacio felt himself get thrown once more back into the water.
…
Baby Blue looked down at the scene below her.
There were three of them. Three humans, three males, three enemies down in the shallow waters where Typhonna had carved through the land.
She flared her wings, letting herself stall in the air. Her body drew out her chi, concentrating it to where she focused.
Dark brown feathers shot forth, raining down.
They panicked, just like always, as her feather shuriken knifed through the waters around them.
Suddenly, a familiar figure burst from the trees, running straight into the water.
“No!” cried Baby Blue at what she saw, her eyes wide in disbelief. “That’s impossible!”
She let herself fall into a dive, confusion and hatred seething, straight towards her former assistant.
…
Rosalyn pulled Ignacio from the feather filled waters. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Benson grab Timmy by the shoulder and struggle against the water towards the shoreline.
“What the hell just happened?” Ignacio sputtered.
“Move!” Rosalyn shouted at him, trying to get to the shore.
Deep claws tore into her back, tearing massive troughs in her skin. She fell forward, screaming, into Ignacio’s arms.
…
The channel, although shallow, rose high on her battle form. The still waters fought against her as she tried to spread out her wings.
“Rosalyn!” shouted the eyeless human that held close her former assistant. “Say something!”
The waters around them were growing red, wetting her appetite. Her claws could cut deep, and the Ding-ho was not much stronger than a human.
“She will die a traitor’s death,” Baby Blue said shifting from her battle form. “No mercy offered, no forgiveness granted.”
The human looked up at her with his hollow bleeding eyes as she spoke, horror spread across his face.
She stepped back, closer to the shore. She could kill these two in her more human shape right now, but not the other two humans. She had to get into the more shallow water where she could enjoy her more natural form, where she could kill them all with ease. This human body was so cumbersome sometimes and difficult to control, unnatural.
“You will all die,” she said calmly and evenly, just like her short steps. “That is something you can be wure of.”
“Screw you!”
Baby Blue turned as the youngest of the three humans pulled something from his pocket. It was a familiar object, red and white in his hand.
The red containment beam shot out and coalesced into a lizard-like girl with a small fireball burning bright at the end of her tail. With a shout of “Go,” from the kid, the Charmelons roared and fire spewed from the girl’s mouth, enveloping the First Borne.
Baby Blue snorted, quickly shifting back into her battle for as the flames died down around her. She answered with a roar of her own, the air vibrating with her cry.
“Do it again!” shouted the kid. The Charmelons was quick to do so, flame flaring out before he’d even finished speaking.
She threw up her wings, throwing water everywhere. They were fighting her? Her own soldiers?
She pushed forward towards the shore, focusing her rage.
“Don’t you go anywhere!”
A pair of weak arms latched themselves onto her tail. She ignored it, and instead took another step forward. She could almost move freely now.
Feathers suddenly slammed into her, driving her down to one knee with their unexpected assault. She looked up and saw a winged woman in the sky above her, a sword and metal shield in her hands. Baby Blue let her wings spread out.
A light bump took her by surprise as the human let go of her tail and jumped onto her wing.
A small twitch of her shoulder sent the blind boy flying to the grassy shoreline.
She stroked her powerful wings downward, rising up from the water. The Charmelons’s small flares were insignificant and ignorable as Baby Blue powered her way up to the new opponent in the sky.
The Valkyrie clanged her sword upon her shield before flying straight towards her.
“Idiot,” Baby Blue remarked with a grin.
She unsheathed her claws from her massive paws and swiped upwards, raking them across the girl’s steel barrier.
The sword speared through her shoulder, lodging itself beneath her feathery wing. The pain of the stab itself was nothing, compared to the sudden pressure that tried to snap it in two from trying to keep her aloft.
She clung to the Valkyrie’s shield, the sword jammed in her back.
She would not fall. Not yet, the damned bitch.
The Valkyrie, eyes full of wild rage and madness, pounded on her toes with slender hands, calloused beyond pain.
Baby Blue roared again, and kicked with her rear legs, scrapping down along the almost angelic girl’s torso.
…
Benson watched the two winged Monsters fall from the air.
He glanced over at Timmy, the kid pulling the dog-woman from the waters.
The kid had made his choice, so be it.
As the two girls crashed to the ground throwing dirt and leaves everywhere, he made up his mind.
He would survive. Of that he was sure as he ran into the shallow water.
…
Baby Blue picked herself up from the ground, one paw at time.
Beneath her, the Valkyrie moaned, still alive but unconscious.
Shaking her head, trying to clear the cobwebs that surrounded her, Baby Blue looked down at the semi-conscious girl. Her limbs were broken.
What were they? Arms? Legs? She wasn’t sure, couldn’t remember.
It didn’t matter. She would finish the girl right here, right now. It was mercy.
As she raised her paw to strike, she saw him. A boy from a distant memory, crouched over two people, watching the slaughter that her family had rained down upon them.
He looked at her, through her, with eyes that weren’t even there.
“No!” he cried out and picked up something from the ground.
A stick? He hoped to fight her off with a branch of a twig? It was even a very big stick, narrower than even his arms as he brought it to his shoulder. Something tingled in the back of her mind. What was she forgetting?
He stumbled towards her, tears streaming all along his shallow face.
“Open wide you cunt-faced bitch-whore!”
She opened up to roar when it connected inside her head.
Gun. The stick was a gun.
The blast caught her fully in the face.
…
Rosalyn fell to her knees as the shot rang out.
Both Baby Blue and Ignacio fell to the ground as the firearm exploded.
She didn’t remember climbing to her feet or wrapping her arms around his blood soaked body. She didn’t realize it until later as she poured the magics inside her outward, willing them to life.
“Heal!” she screamed pouring the energy into his body. “Don’t do this!”
She looked down at the half of his head that remained, blood and brain pouring from his skull.
“Live!” she screamed letting everything she had go, forcing the power into his still warm body.
But nothing happened, and only silence answered her.
It was the sound of someone vomiting that shook her from her tears, forced her to look away from her lover’s shell.
She turned and saw Timmy wiping his mouth, the Charmelons next to him, a look of concern on her face.
Rosalyn stood up, not bothering to wipe the tears from her face. It didn’t matter. She took off her small backpack, dropping it to the ground, after pulling a small vial from the side-pouch.
She began to walk, unstoppering the vial of clear liquid.
Baby Blue was still moving, struggling as she approached. The Griffon’s wings were drooped, drenched in bright red blood that stained the ground around her. Rosalyn grabbed her former commander by the nape of her mane.
“You will suffer,” she hissed at the winged cat. “Suffer, as I shall have to suffer.”
She poured the contents of the vile upon the ragged First Borne’s face, splashing down the sharp fangs and rough tongue.
“Don’t fight it. Just let the infection spread.”
She stood there, holding Baby Blue tight, until the Griffon’s eyes glazed over with the rising sun.