“Freedom for the Anthro people! Don’t let the humans take us for granted and treat us like slaves! We deserve every right that they take for granted while treating us like brain dead animals! Don’t let the humans control out lives! Freedom for the Anthro people! We have lived too long in the gutters of society, all the while we prop up corporations and Anti-Anthro legislatures that steal our hard-earned money and hand it over to the rich! It’s time we get our dues and gain equality, fair pay, and better living standards!”

Cheers sprang from the city square as it was filled to the brim with every known Anthro-kind in existence. Flamboyant protesters in every shade of color to the dark dressed anarchists moving about the crowd. Chants drowned out any conversation, all following the Anthro-Fox onstage as she shouted out to the crowd. Her fur was tinged slight pink, shimmering in the mid-day sun.

“Isn’t she amazing!” A passerby cheered on. Uwu smirked. Rosa had fought hard to get any sort of legality to the event. She met roadblocks at every process of planning the protest, but she had finally done it. Uwu had helped too, but no where near as much as the talented activist did. She was going places, hopefully when all Anthros had equal rights, she would be sent to Congress, the Senate, or even the White House. It would be a historic day, one Uwu would not miss for the world.

Banners hung from the windows of buildings, supporting the Anthro’s in their endeavor to be treated like living beings worthy of empathy. They flapped in the breeze that carried the sweet and savory smells of food trucks and vendors out to support the Anthro Freedom movement. Several humans attended the event too, all wearing hats with various Anthro ears in support.

Uwu pushed his way through the crowd, smiling as all the Anthros here had the same agenda and purpose, to bring freedom to their kind and have the same rights humans had. He couldn’t help but smile as he looked at all the faces of those around him, dancing, singing, waving flags with glee. It was something he hadn’t thought to see ever in his entire life. Everyone here was risking their life to push equality for Anthros. If they were here, he was too. It was his duty being in the movement.

The red fox passed to the edge of the crowd, working his way to the stage to congratulate Rosa on her speech well done. She was about halfway done now, but she was going to kill it. Uwu had stayed up countless nights with her as she practiced repeatedly until she could confidently recount it in her sleep.

“You walking, fucking abortions! You should all be killed on sight!”

Uwu glanced to where the shouting was coming from. Past a line of police offices, Antrho-Dog and Human alike, were a crowd of people with their own kind of signs, calling for the death of Anthros everywhere.

They held stars in the shapes of crosses around as they continued to heckle the Anthro crowd. The Gellical Collective, a bunch of religious types. Some Anthro’s yelled back their own threats, only to be turned away by the police presence.

Uwu touched the shoulders of those on his own line, “Just leave them be. Enjoy the event today. It’s a once in a lifetime achievement. Don’t sour it.”

Some of the Anthro’s nodded in agreement, leaving the scene behind. The shouts faded as Uwu got closer to the stage. The crowd thickened with every step. He pushed in through with his shoulder first until he had a great sight of Rosa on the stage. Her pinkish fur gleamed in the sun. A few stray clouds clung to the otherwise clear sky. It was a beautiful day for a beautiful speech.

Rosa’s voice carried through the crowd, “And we will let peace and harmony carry us through to see the light at the end of the tunnel, setting an example for all the beautiful Anthros to come. This is our world too, and we deserve to see the beauty in it!”

Rosa always talked about peace. She hated the violence inflicted on Anthro kind, but she didn’t want to stoop to that level and let the hate win. Other groups had popped up in the past and caused all sorts of trouble for the movement. Turning to terrorist tactics to get the message across, but it only brought more heartache to the Anthros around, hurting any sort of chance at equal rights.

Uwu couldn’t think of the latest group to gain prominence. The Meow…somethings? It didn’t matter, they always ended up the same. A bunch of dead dreamers with good intentions and bad outcoems. Peace was what was needed here. It would save the day.

“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” A confident, commanding voice, as smooth as molasses shook Uwu from his daze.

Uwu glanced over to the young man standing next to him. It was a Anthro-Cat with long grey hair wearing a black hoodie with a megaphone slung over his shoulder.

He nodded in agreeance, “You bet she is. Best damn girl I’ve ever met. She’s going places,” Uwu couldn’t help but smile as he pictured the bright future he would see in his lifetime, “And she’s taking us all with her.”

The Anthro-Cat scoffed, “You think this will change things? This shit’s just getting started.” He pointed down a street past the stage, barely visible between the crowd. “I think shit’s about to hit the Roomba, and it’s going to be smeared across all of us.”

Uwu leaned up on his tip-toes to get a better look at what was happening behind the scenes. Large military trucks were looming up into view. A strange feeling overtook him. He couldn’t help but think something bad was happening now. An empty pit was opening in his stomach.

The grey cat held his hand up to his ear, his eyes drifting up to the rooftops, “No sights yet? There’s gotta be something. Check the rooftops and windows. The speech is almost over. Find it! They’re almost here!”

Uwu’s brow furrowed. What was the Cat talking about? What was he looking for? His eyes glanced back up to Rosa. She was glancing over the crowd before her eyes met his. She smiled at him. Her muzzle dark and beautiful. Her eyes squinted shut as an applause overtook her, deafening the city square. Anthros cheered, throwing hats into the air, blasting off fireworks.

Uwu glanced over at the police line where the religious nuts were blockaded. The police line was gone. The protestors vanished along with them. Anxiety crashed down onto Uwu. Something wasn’t adding up.

Boom.

A firework blew up low in the sky just above the massive crowd. Uwu looked back to the stage. The Anthro-Cat next to him was yelling something out but Uwu couldn’t hear it. He was in shock. A mist of red was cascading down from the stage. Rosa’s body was falling back in slow motion. Her face just a blank slate now. No emotions, no smile.

The cheers turned to shouts, which turned to panic, which turned to a stamped. Everyone was trying to escape the square at the same time. The military trucks came rolling into the crowd, not caring if pedestrians were getting hit or not. The backs of the APC’s opened up and non-descript soldiers armed with high tech gear filed into the crowd, arresting random Anthros within reach.

Uwu turned to the grey Anthro-Cat. The fox jumped on the man and punched him in the face. The two tumbled down to the ground. Uwu couldn’t help but think this man was responsible for the carnage developing around him.

Uwu gripped his hoodie tight, “What the fuck is happening?! You know what’s going on! What did you do to her!” Uwu’s thoughts were racing. Was this cat in on the assignation of his friend? He was talking about rooftops and he knew about the oncoming raiders.

The grey cat reeled back and punched Uwu in return, knocking the red fox off him. “I ain’t got nothing to do with that shit, fucker!” The Cat spit out some blood, pulling a handgun from his waist. He pulled back the slide and chambered a round, “But…” He held a hand out to Uwu, “We can find the fucker that did this, and put a bullet in his skull.” The Anthro-Cat smiled at Uwu as people rushed all around them.

Gunshots popped off in the crowd, followed by screams.

Uwu glanced at the gun, then at the Cat’s hand. He grabbed it and was hoisted up onto his feet in one swift motion.

The Cat handed the gun over to Uwu, “The name’s Yeti. Leader of the Meowtlaw Stars.” He pulled another pistol matching the first and cocked it, “Nice to meet our newest recruit. Now, follow me!” He winked at Uwu and ran off into the crowd.

Uwu stood for a moment, second guessing what he was about to do. His head was in disarray. What was he to do now? He saw the Cat disappearing further into the crowd and he gripped the gun tight. Peace wasn’t an option now. They had to pay. Whoever did this, they had to die.