Prologue:

The jungle had once been an oasis of peace. Its ground had been a moving carpet of life, insect and plants mingling to form an ever-changing tapestry. Rarely disturbed, it's tranquil life had never seen a conflict of such wanton violence and destruction. Its soil was soaked in blood, its trees crowned in napalm and its previous silence ripped apart by the bark of machine gun fire, the fire of explosion and the shouts of orders.

"Come on boys! Come on! We've gotta take that position and it'll look God-damned better without all these gooks inside, so move yer furry arses!"

For the Walker brothers, it had been a grand total of three years on the field: Ethan and Nicholas Walker were known as some of the fiercest soldiers north of Dien Bien Phu. However, fighting on Asian soil held a strange irony for them. As Chino-Zootopian tigers, they'd been subject to the ridicule and insults of mammals who bagged the whole continent, and its inhabitants, as "filthy commies", to which the two tigers were associated. But on the field of battle, these petty grievances disappeared, and all that was left was to know if they'd be useful soldiers or simply cannon fodder. The brothers were not part of the latter category.

However, to say that they'd been both on the field for three years would be factually wrong. Ethan, the youngest, had been the one to set foot on the accursed soil of the already war-torn country three years ago. Nicholas had been shipped off right earlier than that, about five or six years ago. The reason for this is quite simple: Ethan engaged at the earliest age he could -eighteen years old- and Nicholas had already been gone for three years. The latter had in fact begun studying at Zootopia's Academy of Literate Arts but had felt the "call of duty" when he was twenty and a Zootopian Army official made a presentation at ZALA. He was not alone in this decision, but as of today, he was the only one left. He could have left too, but with the arrival of his little brother, he had a promise to keep and a mission to complete.

"I'll keep him safe, I swear."

The Alpha division of the Zootopian Marines Corps' 52nd platoon had been sent in a grinding offensive against a Viet-Cong's position, for which they had been fighting for since the morning, and it was not going well.

The enemy was solidly entrenched and the Zootopian soldiers had the cover of but a few trees to protect themselves of the onslaught of lead and fire that was raining down on them. Grenades launched from both sides took away life and limbs like nothing. The shrapnels from mortar fire flew everywhere, claiming the lives of those who had thought themselves safe. The soldiers fell like in a grisly version of a shooting stand, some managing to advance for a few meters before a bullet ended them.

However, there were two who did not fear. Two who advanced, who brought back courage in the heart of their allies and struck fear in those of their enemies. Two who ran, uncaring of the bullets whizzing mere inches from their form, who let out a mighty cry as they emptied the clips of their AR-15. "The Dragons of Beijing" they were called and they were the toughest sons of bitches north of Dien Bien Phu. These brothers were immortal.

Until now.

You know, in the movies, there's these moments where time seems to slow down but the hero still acts as if it passed normally? That's how it felt for the two. The Viet-Cong soldier's position was previously hidden, but in order to take down the advancing mammals, he had to reveal himself. He fired a single spray of bullets before a stray shot took him down. His aim however, had been true, be it by skill or by luck and Nick foresaw their trajectory in horror.

Ethan however hadn't seen the danger. It was only when his brother pushed him out of the way that he realized what almost happened to him. Staying low on the ground, he dashed to cover before letting out a shaky breath and turning to his brother. "Thanks Nick, you've saved me ag-" The words died on his lips as he realized something was very wrong. Nick was not next to him, and when Ethan looked around, he saw him lying on the ground, at the exact same place where he'd been saved. Dread planted its cold claws in Ethan's gut, and he tried to run towards his brother. The staccato of a machine gun made sure that he remained stuck behind cover. "SHIT! Anybody! We've got a man down! Man down for God's sake!" The sound of boots crushing the forest soil warned him of the arrival of more Zootopian soldiers to his position. "What's his status?" Ethan turned to the wolf that just spoke up, Alex Ivanovich, the white-and-grey furred heavy weapon specialist of the Alpha division and answered him. "He took a spray from machine gun fire… he's not moving but… -he looked back again at his brother- I think he's playing dead." Alex started unpacking a mortar with the help of another soldier. "Well, if we don't hurry, he's not gonna be simply playin' it anymore… Derrick! Prepare the ammo, we got a bunker to erase!"

After Alex had finished aiming, Derrick -the other soldier- took out a mortar round and on the wolf's signal, let it fall in the cannon's mouth before it fired. They all waited for a handful of seconds before a massive explosion shook the earth. Shaking his head, Alex took a look at what was left of the bunker. "Phew, well… I think that was the ammo cache." Li didn't wait for the wolf's smart remark and ran towards his brother's body.

He slid down to his knees next to him and started frantically ripping his fatigues apart to get to the wound. Blood gushed out of four clear bullet holes, tinting the ground around red with a growing pool of scarlet. Ethan surveyed the damage with trembling paws. He looked around, crying for help, but the whole division was rushing towards the bunker, determined not to let the enemy recover. "God-fuckin' DAMNIT! The blood just won't stop! I- I- I just need to stabilise him. Yeah, easy peasy. Your turn to save him." While Ethan was pep-talking himself, Nicholas had started to come back to his senses. Bleary eyes opened and the wounded tiger spoke in a whisper. "Ethan… are you- a hacking fit of cough shook his entire body- are you… alright." The aforementioned plastered a too-bright smile and tried to reassure his brother. "Yeah, never been better. Now, look at me in the eyes, kay? In the eyes, not down, all right? We're gonna get you out of here -he turned towards the battlefield- MEDIC FOR FUCK'S SAKE! WE'VE GOT A MAN DOWN!"

Nicholas smiled weakly and chuckled. Blood seeped from in between his lips and he grasped his brother's jacket flap. "Listen… Listen!" When Ethan turned towards him, all of his bravado cracked and fell, and all that was left was a terrified sibling. "D'you remember when… when they came about dad?" Ethan didn't like where the discussion was going but settled for keeping his brother talking and conscious. "Yeah… of course…" Nicholas looked to a point thousands of miles away, tears forming in his blue eyes. "I can't believe she's gonna do it again…" "What do you mean? You're not gonna do anything, we're gonna go back, TOGETHER, the both of us. Remember?" Ethan held up his palm where a small, x-like scar laid in the middle. "You promised… WE promised… You can't go back on your word, we DON'T DO THAT! Walkers don't…" He stopped when Nicholas raised a paw and tried to wipe off the tears that fell from his brother's eyes. The paw stopped shakily just shy of Ethan's cheek. "Don't… don't forget… You've got a name. We all do, don't- AH! -the shockwave from a neighbouring explosion jolted the two brothers, worsening Nicholas' condition- aah, shit! Look… at… me…" Ethan complied. "Don't be afraid, don't… forget… Xaijian… Li Han…" Nicholas' paw fell, and the life left the soldier's eyes. Shaking his head, refusing it, Ethan cradled his brother's head as tears of unbelief falling down his face. He was shaking.

It felt so cold.

Even as soldiers rushed around them, he hugged his brother tight as an anguished cry tore his throat.

He was alone.

Hey guys! I hope you're all doing well, for me… it's been a busy couple of weeks what with coming back for my final year of secondary and all… anyway.

I've been thinking about rewriting the first few chapters of Vigilante for a while now because… well, they're painful to look at. So the prologue is redone. Ta-da!

No seriously though, I think rewriting and reposting these is going to be my main focus on this story for now and… well, I also have to put my thoughts in order for the next chapter so this is going to take a while.

On another note, I'm sorry (yet again) for the time it took for me to reappear. The thing is, even though I love fanfiction and it has a special place in my heart, I REALLY need to focus this year. So I've taken the decision to take a break...

On reading, not writing ;P, I think writing helps me relax so I'll keep doing this.

Anyway, that's all for today. Expect chapter 2 to be reuploaded… at some point.

Please give me your thoughts on what you think of the story if you're new and leave me a review if you feel like it.

See ya!

Dragon