Yami’s pupils grew into two large black circles. Cold breath coursed through his nose as he slowed down his mind and began to focus ahead. Adrenaline was racing through his veins. He was as close to death as he ever had been. His sword was calm in his hands now. If he was to die, then so be it. There was no use fretting over it now.

Whhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrzzzzzzzzzzdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdtdt.

The drop ship’s guns revved up and vomited bullets across the street. Sparks blasted, concrete broke apart, cars turned to Swiss cheese under the gun fire. Tracer rounds lit up the path, cutting down and spraying across at Yami and Mama.

Dust, dirt, debris, smoke, and fire all erupted under the hail of gunfire. The Naval Officer smirked. It was as God intended. No more abhorrent monsters tainting the pure path of humanity.

Yami stood his ground. Bullets whizzed past his head and body, flying into the cars behind him. The Bishop stood his ground too. Yami rushed forward, sword held tightly to his side. The Bishop readied his mace, holding it across his body and high, waiting for the Anthro to strike.

Dropship fire rocked to the right, spraying them down with chunks of road, dirt, dust, and sparks.

Yami stepped in and feinted a high attack. The Bishop moved to intercept the attack, taking the bait. Yami twisted his blade and thrusted it deep into the neck of the Bishop. The power shield tried to save its owner, but failed as the blade struck through, piercing the veil. The Bishop produced a gargling sound in response, flailing about with his mace. Yami quickly pulled his katana out and struck horizontal at the Bishop’s neck. The Bishop’s head toppled to the floor, his breastplate burning bright red.

Yami grabbed the Bishop and jumped back as the bullets from the drop ship raked across him. The Bishop’s armor burned hotter than iron as a bullet struck. Yami’s hand started to burn from the heat as he stood between the dropship and Mama.

It wasn’t easy. Her body was massive. A bullet hit slightly to his right, cutting his shoulder. Yami yelped from the pain.

“Just leave me.” Mama grunted out, holding her damaged arm.

“Never, Big Mama! We go down together!” Yami held the Bishop’s body high as another barrage passed over them. Bullets cut deep into everything around them. Yami screamed again as a shot grazed his shin. The Bishop’s armor flashed white and exploded in his hands. Metal shrapnel burst over the couple as Yami tumbled to the street, rolling in a dust cloud of shrapnel and rock.

The gunfire stopped briefly. The Naval Officer smirked as he looked over the massive cloud of dust and dirt he inflicted across the road. He couldn’t tell if the heathens were dead or not, and he wasn’t taking any chances. His hand tapped his pilot’s shoulder, “Hit the thermal view. I want to confirm their deaths.” He stood up straight. There was no way they survived the barrage. They were done.

A blue overlay zipped up over the view screen, showing the fires that rocked the pulse cars lit up in oranges, reds, and whites, fluttering in the wind.

The Naval Officer’s smile faded as two red blobs were still there, moving about. One was large and the shape of a bear. His hand gripped the Pilot’s shoulder hard, “Another barrage. This time don’t miss, or may God save your soul!” Spit flicked from his frothing mouth. His implants surged to repel the emotions.

The Pilot nodded and the guns began to whizz to life. His head cocked to the side a bit, “Sir, we have a coded hailing frequency, should I accept?”

The Officer scoffed, “What now? Put it up.”

“Dat no wey to treat mah friends, ya hur?”

“Sir!” the Pilot turned his head, “Incoming ship, it’s going to ram us!”

Wham!

The ship rocked about, flying to the side, and smashing up against a building. Windows shattered, brick and concrete tumbled down across the drop ship. The Naval Officer was tossed to the side, slamming his head into the side of the doorway.

His vision blurred as his head rang. Blood trickled down his face as he regained composure. The Pilot was fighting the controls, trying to stabilize the ship as it pulled out of the building. Electricity sparked and water blasted down from the broken pipes on the dropship as it swerved back in forth in above the streets.

The Naval Officer peeked out the vid screen. A large red blob whipped around and was hovering right in front of them. “Drop the thermal, now!”

The Pilot frantically smashed some buttons and the vid screen returned to normal. In front of them was a red and yellow civilian model air car, the front end dented up, smashed in.

“Do unto others, right? Den take dis, ya bumbaclot!” A small panel flipped out the side of the red and yellow ship. Four small missiles blasted out, headed right at the Gelly dropship.

The Naval Officer’s implant was raging now, sparks erupted as it tried to control his emotions. He screamed out, “God save us!” His face lit up with fire and his voice was cut out by the explosion of the missiles hitting home. The drop ship was covered in fire as the explosions chained, each missile exploding on impact. It rocked side to side as the engines gave out. The whole metal machine crashed down into a building below, rocking the ground with one final explosion.

The dust cloud around Yami was pushed away by an oncoming ship. Yami heard some explosions as he pushed himself up from the street. He winced as his shoulder was bleeding, and his shin was lacerated. He limped over to Mama, holding one hand on his shoulder.

He shook the woman, “Mama, Mama, get up Big Mama.” His eyes started to fill up with tears as she refused to move. “Dammit!” Yami slumped down on his ass, splashing a puddle of water out. “Not you too!”

“Ha, save those tears, deary. I’m not done yet.” Mama grunted as she sat up with, pushing up with her one good arm. “It’s good to know that you’d cry for me though. It’s sweet.” Mama started chuckling through her pain, wincing when she moved her arm.

Yami started to chuckle too. This was crazy. There were too many emotions swirling around his head now. What the hell was going on anymore. The Gellical Collective was a lot more than just some boogeyman to scare children. This was real.

The smoke disappeared as a ship dropped down beside them. Yami grabbed his sword from the ground, holding it tight.

The red and yellow ship doors opened. An Anthro-Cat stood there with her robotic arm holding onto the doorway, “Ya best get yo ass in her’ ‘fore some mo’ Gellys show up to gut ya.”

Yami let out a deep sigh of relief. It was the Meowtlaw’s, and not just any Meowtlaw, but Azura had come to save them. Yami bent down to help the Anthro-Bear up, but she was heavier than she looked; heavier than he could even lift.

The two of them limped over to the ship, Azura came rushing out to help them in. The ship doors closed and they took off. Several other Anthro-Cats were inside. They pulled out some medical supplies and began tending to the two fighters.

“Ya lucky I was in de neighborhood. Saw a Gelly ship and heard de ruckus. Had to see what in de hell was happn’n. Glad I did.” Azura raced the ship fast and low through the streets. “Somt’ing big going down. Gellys e’rywhere.”

“Hmm.” Azura looked down at the frequencies. Something was hailing across the planet. She flipped a switch and the inside vid screens came to life with a new broadcast. The mayor of Carpetree was on his knees, alongside with some Corpo suit types in what looked like City Hall. They were handcuffed and bent down.

Behind them stood a tall and noble looking man with golden, wavy locks and stern blue eyes. Behind him was a small host of Gellical Collective members, all decorated with holy symbols beyond the normal types. Bishops, a Priest, some Deacons, and a Missionary all holding still like unholy statues waiting for you to turn your back before they strike.

He held a sword in the shape of a lavish cross in his arms, “It is time for a change in tactics. We will no longer be working with the vile city and greedy corporations. It’s time for a more forceful approach. To all those watching. We will no longer be occupying this filthy rock. We will find what we want, and kill the rest. You will all be killed on sight. Both civilian and corporate minion alike. Enough of our brothers have died here, enough of their blood has been shed, and now it will be repaid tenfold. That is the way of the Gellical Collective, isn’t that right, Gabriel?”

Micheal the Pious placed his sword down on the neck of the mayor.

“Show yourself now, before we kill everyone on this rock. Your choice, Gabriel. We know you are hiding here. Come on out.” He smiled and with the flick of his wrist, he sliced clean through the mayor’s neck. “Your choice.” The vid screens faded to black, leaving the planet of Meowlith Prime in the grips of fear.