(Playing field)
Yuzu gulped as she stared around herself, she was in the middle of a forest on a large circle stone platform, with a few others she had never seen before, they were mostly all children, some animals, and a few adults, but Yuzu recognised none of them. Everything seemed quiet…too quiet.
After the word 'Run', which seemed to have come from nowhere, everything was silent. Yuzu watched the animals take a cautious sniff around them before racing off to their freedom. A young boy pushed passed her, jumping from the platform, with a panicked look over his shoulder he raced off as well.
"Why is he running?"
"Where are we?"
"What did it mean by run?"
"Perhaps something is coming this way" An old man commented walking forward slightly. "Which means we should be moving"
"Don't tell me, what to do" Another man snorted, his eyes glaring at the first. Yuzu tensed staring between the two as the first man turned slowly towards him, staring him over before merely shrugging his shoulders. He lowered himself picking up the toddler that was on the floor and in one smooth motioned turned his back.
"Do as you wish"
He was so calm, like everything was normal. Unsure what else to do, Yuzu followed him.
(Cells)
"Yuzu!" Ichigo yelled slamming his hands against the glass cell as he stared up at his sister on the screen. She was out in the middle of a forest, with random people, mostly kids! And old man leading her through the forest.
Worse yet there was monsters they couldn't see, a whole lot of them, heading right towards them. Only a few 100 yards away, and they were closing in fast.
"Yuzu!" Ichigo yelled again. He felt useless, he was trapped and she was out there.
'please don't die!'
"Are those monsters going to get Yuzu?" Karin gulped her eyes filling with tears as she stared up at her sister, who was following a old man through the forest with other children, all of them oblivious from the danger, which was right behind them.
(Playing field)
A scream echoed through the air, and Bang paused, turning slightly he glanced back at the seemingly empty forest.
"Did you hear that?" One of the young children following him gulped. "Someone screamed"
Bang nodded, his calm demeanour shifting ever so slightly. He wasn't sure what to expect.
"Keep moving children"
"But where to? What if some things coming after us, and that's why it said we have to run" A tiny boy with a big fluffy tail questioned his eyes full of fear. It was a strange sight for Bang considering half the boys body was an animal form, and usually thing's like that he fought to destroy but the child didn't look like a threat. Plus he was carrying a animal looking toddler as well.
"What if it's demons"
"Or hollows"
"Shape shifters"
The children rounded off names of things Bang really didn't know about, he mused it was something from their world which obviously terrified them.
"If something is chasing us then it makes more sense to keep moving" Bang responded, turning back around and quickening his pace. He didn't really know where he was leading them, but away from whatever was back there was a start. His job was a hero, and he had people that needed saving, it was no different from being back home.
"Little girl" He turned his head, to a thin dainty looking child with light brown hair, just by looking at her he could tell she had a kind soul. Her eyes held no darkness.
"Y-yes?"
"Here, take him" Bang held the terrified toddler out to her, watching confusion spread across her face as she slowly took him. "If something is coming I'm going to need my hands free" He explained offering her a small smile, though he was more focused on listening to his surroundings. Something felt off.
(Cells)
"What the fuck is an old man going to do!" Ichigo roared slamming against his glass cell again.
"How dare you insult Silver fang!" Another voice snarled in return, Ichigo lowered his eyes from the screen, meeting that of a few anger people, who looked to be in fancy dress.
"Silver fang is a extremely skilled martial arts master, he is a S-classed hero ranked 3rd in the hero association"
"Is that meant to mean something to me Samurai wannabe?"
"Excuse me?"
"How dare you!" Another man snarled, he looked like he was wearing a tin can on his head, he reached for his sword and it made Ichigo snort.
"What are you going to do about it!?"
"It seems this ape lacks in manners" A Robot looking thing commented, boiling Ichigo's anger even more.
"Who you calling an ape Metal head!"
"Good comeback" Another man snorted, Ichigo turned his eyes to him, he had some Elvis style hair and a metal bat resting by his side.
"Something to say bat boy!"
"Bat boy that's the best you got?"
"Ichigo, calm down!" His father snapped, giving him a stare that clearly said enough, a serious side of his father wasn't something he saw often, so it instantly halted him.
"What" Ichigo spat glaring back at his father.
"Starting a fight isn't going to help Yuzu"
"NO!" Karin's scream cut in, directing all eyes back to the screen, the monsters can caught up with them, there was two black panther looking monsters diving straight at Yuzu.
"YUZU!"
(Playing field)
Bang, turned skidding to a stop, his arm out stretched he slammed his hand in to the throat of a monster, throwing it in to another one, the children stopped behind him, gasps of fear spreading among them as they stared at the black creatures. More monsters were coming he could hear their movements among the trees. There was a lot of them, too many.
"Keep going" Bang ordered positioning himself ready to fight as the two monsters got to their feet. "Now"
He could see them jump to life from the corner of his eye, disappearing out of his sight as they did as he ordered, he turned his attention back to the monsters, studying their appearance better, they looked like panthers, but also like snakes, a strange combination. With a snarl, the two monsters dived at him.
She didn't know where they going but the old man told them to run, so that's what she was doing. Holding the scared toddler to her, Yuzu quickened her speed, running faster than she had ever ran before, her lungs burned for air but she didn't want to stop. She prayed that the old man would be okay, seeing those monsters, it was scary, was this what Karin felt when she saw hollows? Where they Hollows?
"Ooph!"
Yuzu skidded to a stop as one of the young boys tripped over a fallen branch, the other children running on and leaving them, Yuzu wanted to run with them but she didn't want to leave the boy, she raced over to him, grabbing his arm to help him to his feet.
"Look out!" The fox boy yelled, diving over Yuzu's shoulder and landing in front of her, screaming 'fox fire' Blue fire filled Yuzu's vision halting the black beast which had nearly got them from reaching. But as quick as the fire had appeared it disappeared, the beast snarled at them, it's sharp snake like teeth gleaming dangerously, it had the head of a snake, the body of a panther and the tail of a snake, it was horrifying like something from a nightmare.
"G-go away" The fox boy stuttered, stepping back as the beast stepped forward, Yuzu did the same, pulling the young boy behind her, and turning slightly so the toddler was away from the monster. Despite her fear she was still determined to help others.
With a noise between a hiss and a roar the monster dived at them, Yuzu turned using her body to cover the toddler and the two young boys, she waited to be hit.
She heard the noise of the beast hitting something and opened her eyes to see the old man in front of her. He had caught the beasts mouth with his hand, and in a single motioned snapped it's jaw, with reflexes quicker than Yuzu could keep up with he slammed his other fist down on to the beasts skull, crushing it on to the ground.
"You kids alright?"
"Y-yeah" Yuzu nodded watching the other man from the platform land on top of another monster snapping it's neck as he did so. He glanced up at them, his red eyes meeting hers briefly before he stood straight, his long black hair framing him like a mane, on closer inspection he had alot of piercings.
"Better be moving before it closes"
"Mm" The old man nodded turning on his heel he scooped Yuzu and the others in to his arms, it barely felt like his feet touched the ground as he ran, the red eyed man close behind them.
"Before what closes?" Fox boy questioned shifting so he could stare up at the old man.
"There's a portal, our friend here says it's the goal we are supposed to reach"
"I'm not your friend"
"How does he know?" Fox boy questioned ducking down slightly when the man with red eyes glared at him.
"Isn't it obvious, it's all a game, we get told to run, from the middle of a forest, and at the end of the forest, there's a portal"
"It does make sense" The old man nodded, shifting his hold slightly as he released one arm to punch a monster in the throat as it dived at them, Yuzu shuffled back a scream leaning away from the monster, before the old man threw it and started to run again. Was the portal really what they were supposed to reach?
(Cells)
Kiyza watched the screen closely a few of the ones chosen had already been taken out, their deaths had been pretty gruesome, made her feel slightly bad for the human who had witnessed her child be torn apart, by what ever those creatures were. There was a few still going, one of which was whom Kiyza was focusing on, they had the cub of one of her tribe members. A young human was holding him in her arms, as a old man held her in his, with another demon looking child.
"my cub" Opal whined resting her hands on the glass cell, her eyes not leaving the screen.
"He'll be fine, it seems the humans are helping him" Mina nodded placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"When have humans ever been trust worthy?"
"Never, Humans have always been our enemy, but it seems we have no choice but to trust" Rakasha mused his own eyes focused on the screen.
"My poor cubs life in the hands of humans, I hate it"
"Are they really humans?"
"Stupid Question Zor"
"I'm just saying, what human do you know that can transform their arms?"
Despite thinking the Wolf tribe member was an idiot, Kiyza had to agree, a human transforming their arms was unheard of, humans didn't have such powers, it was intriguing. Then again she had never seen a human who had as much strength and speed as the old man carrying the young did.
"Maybe it's natural in whatever world they are from"
"Which means we need to be even more guarded"
Kiyza nodded in agreement though her eyes had dropped from the screen as a small boy reappeared in one of the cells across and below from her, she watched his panicked form startle around him before the humans with him embraced him. He had been one of the ones chosen, and the only one to return so far. Though his escape had been a close call, and he had left multiple monsters surrounding the exit.
"So many creatures, do you think they can make it?"
"No way there's far too many for the humans to fight"
Kiyza snapped her head towards the two Lion tribe members giving them a stare to shut up, though Rakasha had already beaten her to it, his stare far more scarier then hers. She watched them shrink backwards, before she turned back to the screen, just as the old man broke through the clearing, the black creatures instantly turning to him, like a pack they attacked.
Bang jumped in to the air, barely missing the monsters that dived at him, his calculating eyes searching for a way to get the children to the portal. The red eyed man, raced forward, swinging his arms wildly, knocking down monster after monster, clearing enough space for Bang to pass by, Shifting the children in to one arm, he raced towards the portal, his free arm, knocking back monsters, he didn't really care much about killing them, when he had children he needed to save. Though his red eyed companion seemed plenty happy just to stand and kill them.
Opal stood up as the old human male jumped through the portal, her eyes darted around the cell waiting for her son to reappear, slowly his form began to reappear and she dived forward to meet him, grabbing his reappearing body mid-air. The human male with the metal arms, crushing the last few monsters by the portal before he too jumped through, his arms changing back to arms. Such a strange thing for a human to be able to do.
"My baby my baby!" Opal purred cuddling her cub to her, checking him over for wounds as she did so.
"Mama!"
"Wow the humans actually helped us" Mina blinked watching the humans greet their friends as they reappeared in their cells as well.
"Maybe they want to work together?"
"Trust a human? Don't be so foolish"
"I wouldn't ever trust them" The leader of the Lion tribe added in halting the two wolves from arguing, his eyes were focused on the old man, as he calmly sat down in the position he had been before he had been chosen, almost like nothing had even happened.
"Most definitely not, one good deed does not erase thousands of years of murder" Rakasha agreed, humans had always been their enemy for as long as Kiyza could remember, she had many scars where they had hunted her, many memories of close calls where they had nearly killed her, and even more memories of friends and family lost to human hands.
They were evil. Why they had helped the cub she didn't know, if it was a ploy, a tactic to lower their guard, either way she was keeping hers up. She did not trust them.
"Kiyza"
Kiyza blinked from her thoughts turning to stare at Rakasha, she didn't have to question him as to what he wanted, as her body began to disappear.
It was her turn.
"Return to us"
"Plan on it"