The fight was won. Or at least, that's how it was supposed to feel. Many had fallen in this bold move to reclaim the Britain isle, and many were wounded. On their way back to White Star City, Umbra, Snow, and Leonna were invited to travel with the general himself on their way back. Snow and Umbra to answer questions and Leonna because she was close to them. The general stood with a stern expression at them, totally different from his previous show of excitement on the battlefield. His personal assistant staying beside him, giving Umbra cold glares as she remained silent.
"Sir?" The general put his hand up to stop her from talking, and Snow obeyed.
"Tell me, Snow, how did it feel to run that fast?" His question puzzled her, but Umbra seemed to know something as his eyes twitched. "You should've seen yourself out there...you were like an impala running through the savanna."
"What do you mean, Sir?" She asked seeming increasingly nervous about this.
But the general shifted his attention to Umbra. "I know about your degradation, Umbra, and I won't push it too much. But care to explain why she seems to be developing superpowers?"
Umbra looked at him, then at Snow, slowly opening his mouth to speak. "It's because of my cells."
"Your cells?" Anderson echoed hearing him. "Mind elaborating?"
"Oh, wait! I think I know!" Leonna interjected. "When he put his core inside Snow he also closed up the incision using his own body." Umbra pointed at her.
"There's your answer."
"Interesting." Anderson leaned back rubbing his beard, but Snow was one step away from a heart attack.
"What?! You mean that, because of your cells, I am-"
"Developing abilities beyond human potential? Most certainly." Thew Lycani replied with a chuckle. "Soon you will see how I feel; standing above you puny and fragile beings." Anderson couldn't help but eye him at that comment. So, he took off the sheep's clothing.
"What?"
"Hey now, that's not a nice thing to say, dude!" Leonna raised her voice. "Where did that came from?"
"From the truth. " Umbra argued. "We Lycani currently outnumber, are more powerful than you humans, and can crush you under our feet at any given time!" He chuckled. "And you know what's the most hilarious thing? WE CAN'T!"
"Umbra, explain yourself!" Snow shouted, showing authority towards him as her behavior became different from her initial one from the4 start of the year. "Why are you saying all this now? What do you mean by 'we can't'? EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" Snow shouted, her eyes showing black spots as Umbra simply chuckled seeing her.
"Oh, with pleasure." He replied obediently. "Up until now, there were other of my kin on this earth. But now, only I remain. Get it? This means I am the biggest threat left around here! But at least I can unwind at last as well. What you heard was the truth-"
"Yeah, I kinda figured as much." Umbra's little monologue was cut short by Anderson, his assistant giving him a gun. "I had a gut feeling that the Lycani were holding back on us."
"Say what?" Leonna was stupefied hearing him. "Are you saying that all those Hopes send in the wild, all those years spend behind the walls..."
"They were all done because the Lycani Queen allowed us." Silence has befallen the room, the sound of the engine clear in the silence now more than ever. "We've been at her mercy since day 1 and we didn't know."
"What?" Snow gasped with shock in her voice, Leonna's expression showing similar reactions. "But then how come we are alive today? Why did they allow us to grow and create weapons against them? Why?"
"Because we do not fear them, that's why. " Umbra answered. "You humans think that one effective weapon is all it takes, but you are wrong. Fear is the factor of control and dominance in war, and humans had been kept under it for decades now."
"But not anymore" Anderson pointed his gun at Umbra. "With this push we gave, the Lycani will stop holding back. Hence why you are saying all that, aren't you?" Umbra's expression turned into a twitching frown as he gritted his teeth. He disliked being read. "You are warning us."
He clicked his tongue. "So what?" The wolf crossed his arms. "You are all dead in the water. You might've won this one battle, but once I am gone and you lose me as an ace, you can bet your military ass-" Anderson pressed the trigger, shooting Umbra in the mouth.
"Umbra!" Snow showed worry as he began to cough, the bullet sliding out along with some black goo that seemed inert. Dead. The general was showing his own point now.
"Even if you can no longer regenerate your cells when touched with Vibros, you can still fight, can you not?" He asked as Umbra's wound closed, his hair getting shorter with 1 MM as a result. "Snow is getting stronger while you are getting weaker, true. And as far as I can see there does not seem to be a way to stop the process. But I assume there is a way to slow it down, no?"
Umbra grit his teeth in anger. He wanted to just shred Anderson to pieces, but he couldn't...Not anymore at least. So he had to admit to his assumption. "Yeah, there is. " Umbra said. "The cells that are still alive can split and multiply, but I need a constant supply of proteins and fat to do so."
"Meat." Leonna simplified. "You need to eat meat to keep yourself alive?"
"It's not the meat, but the things inside it." Anderson's assistant spoke up. "The substances are broken down and used by the cells as fuel. A Lycani normally survives with whatever he can find in the wild as long as it is organic. But in your case, lobo maldito, you need more of the richest things to maintain your body in its current state."
Umbra looked at her, then at Anderson. "Where'd you find this smart ass?"
"Oh, um..." The general looked rather nervous for a second. "She's a graduate from the Hope academy, just like how her brother was."
"Her brother?"
"Better not, wolf. Better not."
"Wait, so..." Leonna interjected again. "If he doesn't keep eating meat, he dies?"
"I will be dying anyway even if I eat." Umbra corrected. "But keeping a steady supply of fat and proteins should slow down the process."
"Alright..."
"But..." Snow spoke up. "You will still...die?" Her voice showed obvious concern. Strange how she came to this after being wary of him and seeing him as nothing but a monster for so long. Must be the core and Umbra's cells fusing with her that cause this change.
"Don't worry, my Queen. " Umbra replied to reassure her. "I will stay alive as much as I need in order to serve you."
"But then you will still-" Snow was interrupted by Anderson clearing his throat.
"I just wanted to confirm it." He said putting the gun away. "Now that we know this we can expect an attack which we may not be able to hold." He fixed his glasses.
"Wait, doesn't that mean that White Star will get destroyed?!" Leonna exclaimed in panic as she realized that.
"Yes." And Anderson's words struck the last nail of fear into them. "But this is why we must prepare. Umbra, tell me, how long until your kin arrives again with fresh forces?"
"Looking at the damage we dealt them, as well as the position of the nearest general to take over the forces who ran, which is the last known one I felt while still having my core; 2 months. 3 if we're lucky."
"Then we have enough time..." Anderson sighed leaning on his seat. "I will order a massive preparation for defense on the coast, but I will need more troops as well for this. So I am going to give an order to speed up the Academy training by a notch."
"What?" Leonna and Snow shouted in unison hearing him. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT!" Leonna started saying. "Does that mean we get to become Hopes quicker?"
"Heavens, no!" Anderson said. "But, also yes. I will be placing a test at the end of this semester, and whoever can pass it will earn a temporary Hope status. But they won't have the full privileges a fully trained one has, nor the experience. So they won't be able to head into the wild by themselves for starters."
"I see..." Snow muttered.
"Each and every single student, except for the ones who suffered injuries in this fight-"
"Hey!" Leonna shouted as she felt targeted. She only had a busted knee.
"As I was saying, those with injuries will be relying on luck. That being if they can heal until the test starts." Anderson's assistant finished.
"Pff. Not like it'll make a difference anyway." Umbra said. "White Star only has so many military resources at their disposal."
"What do you mean?" Snow asked looking at him. The Lycani are all connected, so of course, Umbra knew about the other cities.
"You mean Red Cross.?" Anderson asked looking at the wolf with a stern expression. "True, they possess great military might, the greatest out of all 3 cities. But they are also the very poison of the 20's century."
"A dictatorship" His assistant clarified. "Red Cross is currently ruled by a dictatorship."
"Which is why relations are ever so tense with them. " Anderson said rubbing his template. "Those guys have little care for human life and only give a fuck for who's missile collection is bigger. Which they won't hesitate throwing some innocents under a bus to expand if they found themselves outmatched."
"So what are you suggesting?"
"Excuse me?" Umbra turned to Leonna as she asked him.
"Are you saying we should, like, strike a deal with them or something?" She continued. "I heard rumors, you know. Those guys cannot be trusted."
"I agree with chocolate." That was racist, Anderson. "But Umbra has a point as well. If we wish to survive this next strike we need help. And Red Cross is the only city with the strength to provide it."
"Sir?" Snow looked at him. She could tell he was thinking about something, but at the same time, he didn't like at all what he was thinking.
"Snow, Umbra, and Sasha. I will dispatch you there to strike the deal." He said. "I will inform Lakrovski myself since this will be a homecoming for her."
"Sir, aren't you forgetting something?" His assistant spoke up. "We cannot get to Red Cross City."
"Sasha did it." He pointed out. "She knows how to get there, so I will talk with her in private. While I prepare things though, you 3 better rest and ready yourselves for the trip."
Umbra narrowed his eyes at him. If there was a time when he sensed a catch, this is the one. Something was fishy in the middle. But that had to wait. It wasn't long after this talk that they arrived back at White City and everyone went out of their transport. Leonna needed help to get to the hospital, but she got there fine and the doctors patched her up. But Snow was left alone with Umbra at the dorms.
But there wasn't anything going on there except a well-earned sleep. The real talk was with Anderson, Shaw, and Natasha. The 3 veterans exchanging words in private in a calm manner-until Sasha smashed her fist into the table.
"You want me to WHAT?!" She snapped at Anderson, completely forgetting about rank and whatnot. "No, no! Not happening! I am not going to return there!"
"Sasha, please, try to listen to reason-
"To reason, Shaw? To reason?!" She was acting out of line. But Anderson didn't mind one bit. It seems like he knew this is how she'll react. "I am listening to reason! And the reason is that I will get executed the moment I step foot back home! Heck! They might just take the Lycani duo to experiment on them as well!"
"We will give them an escort, so please try to calm down!" Shaw pleated and the Russian woman heard him, sitting back down on the chair. "Good..."
"I understand your concern, Lakrovski. " Anderson said. "But we cannot risk getting pushed back to square 0"
"General Anderson, please try to understand my point; we cannot trust Red Cross City. Believe me when I tell you that they are not to be trusted one bit." She pressed on.
"I know, Sasha..." Anderson replied.
"I hate to do this sir, especially after casting your vote in Umbra's favor, but this deal is a bad idea like none other. " Shaw said aiding Sasha. "Red Cross is not reasonable either. I am more afraid of what they'll try when they find out about us having a Lycani-"
"They know."
Suddenly, the door to their room opened and in walked a certain woman. Gen. Rose. The very same one who wanted to kill Snow just to get rid of Umbra. "General Rose? "Anderson muttered seeing her. "Explain yourself at once."
"Red Cross is already aware of us having the Lycani, The Terror of the Night, under control." She walked up to the table, taking a seat. "That was one reason why I wanted him off the board as well."
"Care to explain, Ma'am?" Shaw asked.
"Simple; I was worried about the lives of the people within their borders." She replied. "A symbiotic relationship between human and Lycani, with the added bonus of a nigh immortal soldier which cannot be killed. It sounds like a dream. But for them, is the forbidden fruit."
"So the reason you wanted to kill Umbra was-"
"To prevent them from starting a chain of experiments? Indeed." Rose said. "They have spies in each city, but I got tabs on everyone in ours. Unfortunately, my team intercepted a message to Red Cross containing the information about The Terror. They know, and thus my efforts were in vain."
"No, Rose. Your efforts until now were not in vain." Anderson said. "But killing an innocent life was wrong, no matter what excuse you have."
"This...changes things..." Shaw said sweating.
"Even we are not completely aware of the full process, not to mention Snow or Umbra. It's a wild goose chase." Sasha said.
"And the gooses who are going to be killed for this chase are innocents," Rose added. "So tell me, Anderson, what plan do you have to stop that from happening?"
The general sighed. "Way to make me feel bad about a call of mine, Rose." The other general smirked. "But I do not regret a thing." Then she frowned. "My call to keep him alive was the correct one, I know it. To prove that I will send Sasha and the other 2 in there to meet with the leader of Red Cross City and explain the situation to him directly."
"Getting in the City is going to be tricky, Anderson, but getting to the whole head of the place is going to take a lot of connections. "Rose said.
"I am aware. I will make some calls. Sasha, prepare yourself along with Snow and Umbra-"
"We still cannot get there." She cut him off.
"Pardon?" The general turned to her.
"I got here by sheer luck, Sir." She admitted. "You see, the area around Red Cross is surrounded by a barrier of Lycani. They are lead by a General named The Black Widow which hides underneath the ruins of Chernobyl."
"Ukraine?! Christ, that's a big detour." Shaw said.
"So, I take it nothing can get past them, right?" Anderson asked.
"No, Sir. I was lucky to get past them alive."
"In that case, I guess I can pull a small ace from my sleeve as well," Rose said as she got her phone. "This is General Rose speaking; prepare the package, codename Crimson Bird."
"Rose?" Anderson looked at her. "What have you been hiding?"
"You have your oversized tank, Anderson, but I prefer a more airborne way of traveling."
"A plane?!" Shaw hasped in surprise. All planes had been rendered useless due to lack of fuel and the presence of Lycani's in the sky. "You had a working plane all this time and didn't say a thing?"
"It is a modified model, something I scrapped from around the country. But yeah, I have a working plane. I made sure it was put up to date regarding tech with a Vibros generator onboard and plenty of firepowers to defend against an attack while mid-air."
"Impressive," Anderson said. "But I assume you will ask for something in return, right?"
"Yes. I am going as well."
"Pardon?"
"I judged the Lycani by rumors alone, and now I cannot touch him. So I will do a little effort and at least make acquaintance." Rose said getting up. "Now if you excuse me, I need to go fix my makeup for the trip."
And so she left, leaving the other 3 to plan this dangerous endeavor.
But behind the shadows, at Red Cross, the one in charge of everything was overlooking the city through the glass wall behind his desk. A strong city, an unyielding fortress, and yet, he was outmatched by White Star. The news of them having tamed a general class Lycani had fallen on his ears as hot needles scooping his head from the inside. But he was not going to be outmatched. "Prepare for the hunt, we are going to catch a Lycani."
But somewhere else, deep underneath the ground in a suffocation chamber covered in black goo and vein-like expansion in the walls emerging from a pool of goo in the heart of this nest, laid a humanoid figure which looked in the nothingness. Female by appearance, and somewhat human by shape. But the rest of her appearance was covered by the dark. "So, one of my children is rebelling and killing his own siblings. But he himself is sick." She chuckled.
A loud sound echoed behind her from one of the tunnels as a large general Lycani waled in the room and dropped what looked like the body of an impala in the goo. Lycani do not kill animals mindlessly, nor do they need to consume them to live. But they needed to feed the Queen at least. "Thank you, darling. Now go outside to play." She addressed the giant as she would a child. The impala was slowly being dragged underneath the goo. "But...this girl my son had found...she is interesting."
NEW CHAPTER! This one took me only a day to make as well! Well, I had luck and got a lot of free time, but it is also night right now, but who cares? This one is mostly filler but does set the stage for the larger events that are to follow.
Please review, follow, favorite.
Bloodfiend out.
